European Adventure
by bikerboysgirl
Summary: Part 3 of my Juice/OC series. This one will follow my characters and a group of the SoA characters as they explore Europe for a few months. I recommend reading parts 1 (A Fresh Start) and 2 (Wedding Bells?) first. There will be a bit of drama, some fluff and, of course, smut.
1. Honeymoon in Paris

The first couple days in Paris, we spent in bed, alternating between ordering in food, fucking and sleeping off the jetlag. It was the evening of the fourth day, I believe, that we finally went out to see the sights. I wanted to see a lot of things; the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Musee d'Orsay, and the catacombs, but the first thing I wanted to see was the Eiffel Tower. It was a lot colder than California, though it hadn't snowed yet, we'd probably see snow in a few weeks, definitely by Christmas, and I was looking forward to that. I was pulling him down the street, practically running as we finally approached the tower. I gave him a kiss underneath the tower, then pulled him toward the elevator.

With a hesitant look, he eyed the top of the tower. I remembered then his fear of heights. I bit my lip, and then offered to go somewhere else, to the next place I wanted to see, or something. He looked up at the top, and then looked back at me. He took a deep breath, as if bracing himself. "No, we're going up. I'll deal. This has been one of your dreams for years. Hurry up, let's go. We can go to the top and watch the sunset, and then back down to the first floor to eat. Then we're going somewhere that's ground level," he said, and I grinned, giving him another kiss before pulling him to the elevator.

At the top, I stood at the railing, looking out and watching as the sunset over Paris. I still couldn't believe we were here, on our honeymoon. Juan stood behind me, arms wrapped around me, holding my hands. I leaned back and rested my head on his chest. I murmured something about how beautiful it was. "Yeah," he replied, but his gaze was on me. I watched the sun disappear on the horizon and then turned in his arms. "I love you, and it really was a beautiful view, but can we go back down to the restaurant now?" he asked and I laughed, but allowed him to lead me back down to the first floor.

Once we ate dinner, I decided on one more place tonight, and then back to the hotel. I had plans involving a lot of sex for tonight, and we could hit more places tomorrow. "You wanna go to the Catacombs at night?" Juan asked when I told him where I wanted to go next. I sent him my best puppy dog look. He just laughed. "I should have known," he looked at the pamphlet I'd gotten from the hotel. "Well, there's a tour in half an hour, let's get over there so we can take it. I wouldn't wanna get lost in the catacombs at night, although, sneaking off from the tour to," he trailed off, waggling his eyebrows at me and leaving the rest of that sentence to my imagination.

Laughing, I started walking toward the catacombs. "We've spent the past four days doing nothing but fucking, eating, and sleeping, and you still want more?" he pulled me close, nipped at my neck and whispered 'Always, my sexy wife,' into my ear. "You know, I really like that word," I said, and he cocked an eyebrow in question. "Wife. Husband. Both are very good words. It's about time we got to use them," I grinned as we kept walking. "Seriously, though, tomorrow we've got to go to more than just two places. We have just over a week left in this beautiful city. I want to see absolutely everything, and that means more than just our motel room," I teased as we kept walking.

Nodding, he squeezed my hand, pulling me into his side and draping an arm over my shoulders as I wrapped one around his waist. "I promise, we can actually get out of bed tomorrow and enjoy more than just our hotel. I want you to see everything your heart desires while we're here, Mrs. Ortiz. We'll enjoy the city of romance during the day, and then we can have fun at the motel at night. We have the rest of our lives for that. We won't be here much longer," he kissed my forehead. I told him to say it again. "Mrs. Ortiz," he whispered in my ear, knowing exactly what I was talking about. I'd never hear that enough.

About an hour and a half into the tour, my feet were starting to hurt. I probably shouldn't have worn high heel boots, but they were cute and I didn't expect to be walking the catacombs tonight. I had figured we would just go see the tower and then maybe a little bit of exploring. Juan could tell they were bothering me, even though I didn't want to say anything. He stopped me and bent down. I tried to protest, but he told me to jump on or he was going to throw me over his shoulder and walk the rest of the way to the hotel, so I hopped up onto his back for a while. I only let this go on for about ten minutes before I made him let me down, but it really helped. "I'll rub them when we get back to the motel, too," he said, kissing the top of my head when he had set me down and we were walking side by side again.

Most people, I would have immediately rejected. I didn't like anyone touching my feet. I honestly usually kicked anyone who tried. He had really good hands though, and for some reason, I didn't mind when he rubbed my feet, though I still didn't let him do it that often. We'd trade massages and foot rubs every so often though. "I'll rub something of yours in return," I replied with a wink. "So, when we get back to the motel, American tourist meets French whore?" I suggested, and he agreed. "I'll meet you in the bar, give me a chance to change," I gave him a kiss on the cheek before going up to the room to change.

Putting on some of the lingerie I got at my bachelorette party, I slipped on a miniskirt and halter top. I traded the boots I had been wearing for a taller pair of knee-high boots and sprayed myself with my cucumber melon body spray, which was the only scent I ever wore, to get the smell of the catacombs off me. I put on more make-up than I usually did, and then headed down to the bar. I couldn't see Juan immediately, but I did spot a seat at the bar, so I went and grabbed it. He had probably gone to the bathroom. He could find me when he was done. I ordered a Screaming Orgasm when the bartender got to me.

A body took the seat next to me, but it wasn't Juan. "I can 'elp you weeth zat," the guy said in a thick French accent. I barely turned my head, told him no, and waited for my drink. He didn't buzz off, though. He put his hand on my arm, and took another step closer to me. I finally looked over to tell him in no uncertain terms to back the fuck off, but the alcohol on his breath and his proximity surprised me. I hadn't realized he'd gotten so close. His face was just inches from mine. I leaned back away from him and told him again to fuck off, trying to pull my arm from his grasp, but he tightened his grip. Juan stepped in, punching the guy in the face.

Surprised by the punch, the guy tried to make a commotion, but Juan warned him to back off, or he would do worse, and the guy ran. I had to smile at my knight in black leather, who chose to continue as if this was part of the role play, asking me if I was okay. "Oui monsieur. Merci beaucoup," I replied. I took his hand, and said the one other phrase I knew he would know in French. "Parlez-vous francais?" I asked him if he spoke French. His reply was 'un petit peu,' which meant a little bit, but I was reaching the end of my small pool of French vocabulary. I had taken it for four years, but it had been too many years since I'd used it. I decided to just be blunt. "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?" I cocked an eyebrow coyly.

To keep up with the role playing, he held up his hand to show me his ring finger. "Well, she ees not 'ere. She never 'as to know. Come," my French accent wasn't too bad as I took his hand, leading him over to the bathroom. I checked the women's bathroom, and there was no one in there, so I took him in, and into a stall where we could have some privacy in case someone did come in. The knowledge that someone could walk in at any time made it even hotter. He pushed me against the stall wall, unzipping his pants, and I wrapped my legs around his waist and slid onto his dick. I wrapped my arms around his neck to brace myself and he had his hands on my ass to help hold me up as he began to thrust faster.

Just a few minutes later, we were both cumming and he left the bathroom first, while I fixed up my make-up and cleaned up a little bit. I loved it when we took our time, and came again and again, but quickies like this, or in the tent on our wedding day, were pretty hot, and had their own advantages. I walked out and sat next to him at the bar. He cocked an eyebrow at me, handing me the drink he'd ordered for me. "'Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?' That was the best you could come up with? A line from a Moulin Rouge song?" he teased.

Sticking my tongue out at him, I took a drink. "Shut up. It's not like you would have known what I was saying, had I said anything else. And besides, it got my point across," I scanned the bar for the guy that Juan had hit, and realized he must have left the bar. "You know; it was pretty hot seeing you defend me like that. I can defend myself, but it's nice to know you can step in when I can't," I finished my drink, then stood off the stool. "Now, let's go back to the room and go again, and again, and maybe even again after that," I winked, and he grinned, draining his beer and picking me up, throwing me over his shoulder and practically running through the hotel to our room.

 **A/N:** _My bad. I forgot to write the A/N the first time I posted this chapter. Anyway, here's the beginning of part 3. I have mentioned that I want to do roughly one chapter per European city, but I don't really have any set in mind yet. I'm kind of just researching and trying to figure out as I go where they're going, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free. I will definitely give you credit if I use your ideas. I have SO many ideas for where to take part 4 and 5. I believe the series is going to come to an end with part 5, but I will do a companion piece with certain chapters from the series from Juan's POV, because that seems like a fun idea to me. That part won't be limited to my usual around 20 chapter limit, so I'll take requests. For the most part, though, there won't be too much drama going on, except little things like this bar fight scene, but mostly this part is having fun exploring Europe. I'll try to include more smut in this one, because someone mentioned that there was less smut than expected in the last part. Anyway, I hope you like this. I'll update when I have another chapter written. These ones seem to be coming out every couple days, but I make no promises, because some days are busier than others._

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	2. Meeting the Wife

(Brie's POV)

Our first week in Belfast was pretty uneventful. I spent some one-on-one time with Kerrianne getting to know her one day. Another day all the women hung out while some of the guys went out with SAMBEL on a run, just to see how they went, without the threat of getting killed by Jimmy. And yet another day we spent exploring the area, mainly driving around, the guys on their bikes, me on the back of Filip's, and the women who wouldn't ride on the back of a bike were in a rented car. Today had me a little nervous though, since I was meeting Fiona. It was weird, meeting my boyfriend's wife.

When I had first found out about her, I'd almost broken the whole thing off. I was not the type of person who dated someone who was married. But after I'd had time to think about the situation, I decided to just keep seeing where this went. It wasn't like she was actually around. They hadn't been together in years, since he was exiled from Ireland, and were really only married on paper, since she'd been cheating on him with Jimmy for years, and he had had many, many girlfriends and mistresses over the years. I told him that if we really became serious, though, he'd of course, have to divorce her.

Due to the lack of rooms and beds, Filip and I were in the same one, but we slept together without fucking. I was holding him to that no sex till our hearts caught up with our hormones, and he was doing really well with it, actually. It had been almost two months, and we'd only had sex on Halloween. I really was falling for him. It had been a long time since I'd felt this way. I was almost ready to tell him I loved him, but part of me was waiting for him to say it first. I was scared to even say the words aloud, because I was worried that when I did, things would go bad. It would be like admitting I was happy, and every time I was happy, something always ruined it.

For the past couple weeks, Krystal had been telling me that it was okay to be happy; it was okay to be in love; and admitting it wouldn't mean something would happen to mess it up. If I was in love with Filip, I should tell him, because we didn't know how much time we'd get with the people we loved. I loved that she was happy now, and seemed to be past most of her commitment issues she'd had since Matthew, but I couldn't get past my fears as easily. I told her I was going to keep taking things one day at a time, and she needed to stop rushing me.

After my shower, I was standing, wrapped in a towel, at the end of the bed, with my suitcase on it, digging through it to find something acceptable. I couldn't decide exactly what was acceptable for meeting your boyfriend's wife though. Do I want to look sexy, or casual, or what? I sighed in frustration and grabbed a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a black tee-shirt. I would do my make-up nice to keep the look from being too casual. I got dressed and was just finishing my make-up when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," I called, barely looking away from the mirror.

For a moment, I didn't hear anything but the door being pushed open, and as the silence stretched on, I had to pull my gaze away from the mirror and red wine colored lipstick I was about to put on, to see who was there. I saw Filip, eying me appreciatively. I cocked an eyebrow and he cleared his throat. "Ya look gorgeous, love. They're gonna be here soon. Ya almos' ready?" he asked, and I nodded. "Alrigh' I'll be downstairs," he stepped into the room, placed a gentle kiss on the top of my head, and then headed back downstairs. I felt butterflies fluttering crazily in my stomach, due to the kiss and the compliment, and took a deep breath. Yeah, I had it bad.

Once I'd finished getting ready, I found Filip downstairs, where he was waiting for Fiona and Kerrianne. Skye, Wendy, Jax, Tara, Tig, and Venus were all around too, along with a couple of the SAMBEL guys. McGee was gone, but Maureen still had the guys over every once in a while. Trinity was probably watching the store and Maureen was cooking dinner, I assumed, since Fiona and Kerrianne were joining us for dinner. Then there'd be the standard club party since it was the weekend. I took a seat on the arm of the chair Filip was sitting in. Skye was on a couch near me. "Nervous?" she asked, and I sent her a glare as she laughed.

Rolling my eyes, I decided not to answer, and she leaned closer, lowering her voice. "Hey, for one, you're amazing, and two, who cares what she thinks? He wants to be with you. Even if she hates you, that's not gonna change his mind. Just try not to start any more car fights," she went back to teasing, and I had to laugh at that. "There we go. I love that smile. Just be yourself. She'll probably hate you either way simply because you're with her husband. But he likes you, and his daughter likes you. That's what matters most," she said, and I thanked her, just as the door opened and Kerrianne came in, followed by someone who had to be Fiona.

Standing up, Filip took my hand, and led me over. He let go of my hand to give Kerrianne a hug, and then put his hand on my arm, urging me from my spot a couple feet behind him, to his side. "Fi, this is Brie, my girlfriend. Brie, this is Fiona, Kerrianne's mom," he made the introductions, and I had to smile at his choice of words. I very politely held out my hand for her to shake, but she looked me up and down without holding out her hand. "Fiona, being a bitch ain't gonna change how I feel. She's bein' nice. Least ye could do is the same," he chided, and she finally nodded and reached out to shake my hand, then pushed past me to the kitchen to help Maureen. "Hey, love, that went better than it could have," he said to me.

Smiling at me, Kerrianne gave me a hug. "She's not a fan of most Americans. And even though she was with Jimmy all those years, she's always felt like she owned Da. I think she can tell he's falling for ya. For what it's worth, I think yer great," she smiled, and honestly, that made me feel a lot better. I thanked her and Filip led me back over to where we'd been sitting. Kerrianne pulled up a chair and sat near us. "I, uh, also think she's upset because I asked her if I could go on yer trip with you guys. I thought it'd be fun to stay with you while you're visiting Europe. I can suggest a few cities, too," she offered, looking to her dad for approval.

Sharing a look with Filip, I eagerly nodded. "O' course we want you to come. That'd be fantastic, darlin'. I would never say no to spending more time with ya," he answered her, and then the subject changed and I could tell how happy he was that she was coming with us. I watched him when his attention was taken by the guys, and I couldn't help but smile. He was at ease and comfortable, sitting with his arm around my shoulders, his hand absentmindedly playing with my hair. He noticed I was staring and looked over at me, eyebrow cocked, and somehow those three words I had been waiting to say slipped from my lips. He looked shocked for a moment, but quickly recovered. "I love ya, too," he said, right when I was gonna start rambling that he didn't have to say anything back.

For a moment, I didn't think I heard him right. I just sat there. I was about to open my mouth to say something, but a voice from the doorway about five feet away announced dinner. I turned my head to see Fiona, and I realized she had heard the exchange that had just taken place. I wondered for a moment if he had known she was there, but I realized that he hadn't looked past me. She was shooting me daggers with her eyes though as we all went to sit around the table. She purposefully set herself across from me. "So, Brie, since you are with Filip, are you aware of what it means to be an Old Lady?" she asked as people started eating, and almost everyone was engaged in other conversations.

Cocking an eyebrow at her, I knew the question was quite simple, but I could tell she was trying to bait me. I looked over at Filip, who opened his mouth to defend me, but I shook my head. "You're upset that your husband is in love with someone else. I get that. From what I've learned about him and his past, he hasn't been in love since you. I'm sure that made you feel powerful in your own way. You liked having him attached to you while you slept with Jimmy every night. You're also probably threatened that your daughter likes me, too. You want to know why Filip and Kerrianne both like me? I'm a good person. I honestly don't care if you like me or not," I informed her calmly. "To answer your question, yes, I know what it means to be an Old Lady, and I know how to commit myself to the man I love," I added.

There was silence from the few around who'd heard me as they waited for Fiona to respond. She studied me for a few moments, then nodded, as if in approval of me, but didn't say anything, instead turning to Maureen and saying something relevant to their lives here. I felt proud of myself, and Filip reached over and squeezed my thigh under the table. "So does this mean we get to have sex tonight, since our hearts have caught up with our hormones, because I have to admit, that was pretty hot," he leaned over and whispered in my ear. I looked at him and nodded and we both went back to eating and talking with everyone else.

A few minutes later, Skye nudged me, leaning over and talking softly to me. "Which of you said it first?" she asked. I didn't have to ask what she meant. I did wonder how she knew it had been said though. "I can just tell. You're grinning like you're getting laid tonight, which only means that you two have finally said it. So, which one of you said it first?" she asked again. I told her that I did. She groaned. "Damnit. Now I owe Krystal 20 dollars. Why, just once, couldn't she have been wrong?" she muttered. I rolled my eyes. I could have been annoyed that they'd made a bet on it, but I really wasn't surprised.

 **A/N:** _I forgot to mention in that this chapter was in Brie's POV when I did my last A/N. But I thought this would be a fun chapter. The next chapter will be from Skye's POV. I'm thinking of doing a couple other chapters in other characters POV's, if the situation calls for it, because it's kinda fun. I do have kinda an outline of this part now. I was doing research trying to figure out where I wanted them to go, and stuff, and a timeline, so I kinda know the location of each chapter, just have to figure out what will happen in each chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what y'all think. And thanks to everyone who reviewed!_

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	3. First Fight

(Skye's POV)

About a week after Brie and Chibs had said their I love you's, Krystal and Juice were finally meeting us all in Belfast. I was going to have to give her the twenty I owed her. She had definitely rubbed it in my face when I had admitted that. I'd tried to get Brie to lie to her for me, but Brie wasn't going for it. She had told Krystal that she'd won the bet as soon as we'd called her to talk to her the next day. She had told us we were all going to sit down and have a talk when we had some time today. She missed our girl time. I kinda needed to talk about things with Wendy. I needed to know if I was worrying over nothing.

Something was off, I knew that much. She'd been more distant lately. She walked out of the room when answering calls when she never had before, and when she got a text while sitting next to me, she'd tilt the screen so I couldn't see it, when in the past, she wouldn't care if I saw her texts or not. I asked who she was talking to, and she just said a friend, but I didn't feel that was right. It was worrying me. I didn't want to lose her, but I didn't want things to keep going like this. I was going to try to talk to her soon.

When I woke up, she was out of bed. I decided to go find her. I found her outside on the stairs, having a conversation. She heard the door and quickly hung up, and I probably overreacted. "Why are you being so secretive?" I demanded. She gave me the same excuses, and I just sighed and shook my head. "Listen, if there's someone else, or whatever, at least tell me. I can't do this anymore if you can't be honest with me," I said softly. I waited, and she opened her mouth to speak, but the door opened and Tig and Chibs were coming outside for a smoke, so I turned and headed back inside.

There wasn't really a chance to talk after that. I was worried about whether our relationship had ended, but we had plans for the day, so I had to get in the shower. I guessed I would give her time to think about what she wanted and maybe we could talk later. Krystal, Brie and I were spending the day exploring by ourselves, as per her request. I got out of the shower and had just finished getting ready when Krystal and Juan arrived. Brie was already ready, so the three of us just started walking. The destination was the visitor center where the Titanic had been built. The rest of us had seen it already, but Krystal wanted to go, and Juice wasn't interested, so he was staying behind with the rest, and the Krystal was taking Brie and I to see it with her.

With large cups of hot chocolate, we began exploring. Juan insisted on coming with us initially, but she had told him that we'd be fine. She knew he didn't want to go, and she wanted some time alone with us, so he reluctantly agreed. He was extremely protective of Krystal, even though she could take care of herself. It was really sweet. I wanted someone who loved me that much one day. That made me think of Wendy, and I had to push the thought from my mind. I was trying to focus on Krystal as she told us all about her two weeks in Paris. I didn't want to bring them down with my drama.

As Krystal went on, I tried to focus on what she was saying. "It was SO beautiful, guys. It was honestly everything I dreamed it would be. The French people were rude, as everyone says, but I loved the energy of the city. And standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower at night, looking out over the city as the sun set and it began to light up," she trailed off, lost in thought. "It was great. Almost as good as the honeymoon sex," she grinned, and we both laughed. "By the way, gimme that 20, Skye," she said, remembering the bet, holding her hand out, then she demanded Brie tell her exactly how she'd said it, and why.

Taking a deep breath, Brie rolled her eyes, but began telling the story after I had handed over the bill. "Well, it was the day I met Fiona, who's a real bitch, by the way, but Kerrianne is great. You'll get to meet her today," she told Krystal, who nodded, but sent her a look telling her to go on. "Alright, anyway, we were all sitting in the living room, and I was sitting there, watching him talk and laugh with the guys, and I just felt so," she searched for the right word, "right. I mean, it felt perfect. I found myself thinking, I could get used to this. The butterflies I feel even when he simply looks at me, the tingles he sends up and down my spine with just a kiss. He looked over at me, noticing I was staring, and I just said it. I didn't even mean to. And he said it back. And I think I believe he means it, which may surprise me the most," she finished.

Grinning widely, Krystal resisted the urge to say 'I told you so,' but only for a minute. "I told you so! Both of you," she gestured to Brie, and then me. "I told you both, that Brie would say it first. And I told you, Skye, that you and Wendy would be good together, too, so I don't know why you guys ever doubt me. I'm good at this matchmaker thing. I know what I'm talking about," she was saying, but her bringing up Wendy again, made me think of our fight, and I had to fight back tears. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's wrong?" she pulled the three of us to an outdoor table at a Café nearby, and sat us down, looking at me intently.

Sighing, I knew I was going to have to explain it now. "I dunno. I really don't know what's wrong. Things have just been weird lately. She's having secret conversations. And I just don't know if she's found someone else or what. I've been stressing over it, but then this morning we had a fight. Well, I don't even know if it was a fight. I told her I couldn't handle any more secrets. And she needs to decide if she still wants me or not. I never got an answer because we were interrupted, and I haven't gotten a chance to talk to her since. I don't even know if we're still together or not," I explained, trying to keep the tears at bay.

To my surprise, Krystal started laughing. I looked at her in shock, but she quickly stopped. She composed herself, and reached over to put her hand on my arm. "Skye, dear, she doesn't have a secret girlfriend. She's been calling and texting me to figure out what to get you for Christmas. She's trying to find the perfect gift, and she wants to think of it on her own. So every time she comes up with an idea, she runs it by me, and I let her know if you'd like it or not," she explained. "When we get back, talk to her, dear. Everything will be okay," she reassured me.

Feeling like an idiot, I took another sip of my hot chocolate. "Really?" I asked as I mulled this all over, and she nodded earnestly. I had really messed up. And all that stressing had been for nothing. I hoped she would take me back. "God I'm an idiot. You know me though, I get worried and make problems out of nothing. She deserves so much better than me, and I just don't want her to realize that," I sighed, putting my head in my hands. "Do you think she'll forgive me for overreacting?" I asked, looking back up at Krystal and Brie.

Both of them put a hand on one of mine, giving them a squeeze. Krystal was the one who answered. "Listen, I've talked to Juan about her. She was in love with Jax for a long time. He says he can see the difference in her. She really loves you. I also know this from the way she's trying to get the perfect Christmas gift for you. So, I'm quite positive she'll forgive you. She doesn't want to lose you either. Stop being so hard on yourself. You know she's had her own issues in the past. If you can look past her issues, she can look past your issues. You most definitely do deserve her," she said, and Brie nodded in agreement.

Before I could respond, Brie spoke up. "Skye, you are amazing. Krystal and I both know it, and Wendy sees it, too. We've all been through shit, yet here we are, all three of us, and I'm so proud of who we've all become. We've come so far from the three broken, fucked up people we've been in the past. We've all dealt with our own mental illnesses, and yeah we still have days when we have to deal with them, but we're so much better than we have been in the past. We've all had so many days when we've wanted to end it, but we're all still here, almost at the end of another year, together, and I couldn't be more proud of the three of us," she said.

Wiping away the tears, I nodded. She was right. I took a deep breath. "I love you guys. Thanks for talking me through this, and thanks for always being here," I said, and they both said they loved me back. "Let's go. Krystal wants to see the place where the Titanic was built, and then I want to get back so I can make up with Wendy," I said, and the three of us got up and kept walking, sipping on our hot chocolate and gossiping about the two weeks since Krystal's wedding.

When we got back to the house later that evening, I found Wendy sitting in the living room talking to Tara and Jax, with Abel in her lap. "Can we talk?" I asked when she looked up at me. She nodded and Abel jumped out of her lap so she could get up and follow me outside. "I'm really sorry. I get insecure sometimes and Krystal explained things and I shouldn't have been freaking out. Can you forgive me?" I asked, and she answered with a kiss. "So we're all good?" I clarified when she broke the kiss, and she told me that of course we were. She wanted to fix things earlier, but we had never gotten the chance to talk. "I love you," I said, and she said it back before we went back inside.

 **A/N:** _Minor change. I took Brooke and Rat out of the last chapter and I'm not gonna have them in Europe, since they just spent their savings recently on their road trip, I figured it didn't make sense for them to have the money to go to Europe too. And I had Opie and Lyla stay in Charming cuz they still have the new baby (although I need to go back and reread to check and see how old the baby is now. I need to figure out my timeline again. I think only like a year has passed. That sounds about right. For some reason everything that's happened has made it seem like longer. Or I'm just having trouble remembering and I need to go back to reread all of it. Lol, that's possible too.). Also, because I'm going to up the drama next part, with deaths and such, I decided they're not out of guns yet. In a few chapters (I can't remember which one) Tara kinda explains what happened. I did want to give you this chapter for New Years, though (fair warning: I did not sleep last night because I was working all night, so I'm going on about 36 hours of no sleep, meaning my editing skills might not be perfect, so I'm sorry for any errors I missed when I read through this), as my gift to you guys. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and I'll end this horribly long A/N now so you can (hopefully!) review. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews. Next chapter is back to Krystal's POV for Thanksgiving._

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	4. Thanksgiving

A week later, we were still in Belfast and it was Thanksgiving. At least, it was Thanksgiving in America. Even though they didn't celebrate over here, since we did, Maureen and SAMBEL were going to celebrate with us. Gemma and Nero had arrived last night, and Maureen was going to share her kitchen as she, Gemma and Fiona made all the side dishes. There wasn't really room for anyone else in the kitchen, so we'd all be scattered throughout the rest of the house and outside. I couldn't believe it was my first holiday as a wife. It was so surreal to me. This was our first Thanksgiving together since I'd moved to Charming, even though we weren't in the states, we were with our family, and that was what mattered.

Just as I was starting to wake up, I felt Juan's arm pull me closer, and he placed a kiss on my hair. I turned over in his arms so I was facing him, and gave him a good morning kiss. "Happy Thanksgiving, beautiful," he said, and I repeated the sentiment. "Do you remember the last Thanksgiving we spent together? It was your senior year of high school, and you finally took me to meet your family, since we'd finally gone public with the fact that we were dating," he trailed off as I nodded, remembering that year with a wince. "They didn't like me that much," he added with a laugh.

Shaking my head, I had to laugh, too. They'd all been grilling him. It was pretty much the most attention they'd paid to me in years, and of course, it was only to point out all the reasons I should find a different boyfriend. They picked at the fact that he was three years older than me, and he wasn't in college, and drove a motorcycle. "I'm still sorry about that. It wasn't really you, so much as the fact that they've never supported any decision I've ever made on my own. If they had ever actually given you a chance, they would have loved you," I said as I began absentmindedly drawing designs on his bare chest with my fingertips.

Reaching up to lift my chin so he could look in my eyes, he tenderly tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "You know I couldn't give a shit what those people think. They're not your real family anyway. If it wouldn't have caused problems for you back then, I would have told them exactly what I thought of them. Now that you've finally stood up for yourself and kicked them out of your life, I don't have to. We're with our family now, and they happen to love both of us, so we don't have to worry about your cousins or aunts and uncles or even your siblings ever again. I promise you," he said.

Beaming, despite the seriousness of his words, I placed a kiss on his chest. It was little things like that, that told me how much he loved me. He always knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. I wasn't only bothered because of them, though. He seemed to sense that as my smile faded and I didn't say anything else. "Your mother and grandmother are both up there watching you, and I'm sure they're as proud of you as I am for what you've done with your life. You've taken it into your own hands and you're happy. That's all either of them ever wanted for you," he added.

Biting my lip, I smiled sadly at him. "Thank you, Juan. You always know exactly what to say to make me feel better. It's still hard being without them, but you make it better," I gave him a kiss then broke away. "Alright, enough with the mushy. I can only handle so much. Let's go have some shower sex before someone else gets in the shower," I winked and got out of bed, pulling a robe on before headed to the bathroom with him following behind me. I liked our romantic, sweet moments, but I hate crying, so I wanted to change the subject before I started crying, and what better way to do that than having some hot sex.

A few hours later, we had all started drinking while Gemma, Maureen and Fiona were cooking. I had met Fiona during the week and I wasn't really sure whether I liked her or not, but I didn't really care to get to know her, because she was Chibs' past. We were gonna be leaving soon, so there was no point getting to know her. I did have fun hanging out with Kerrianne and Trinity though. Juan, Brie, Chibs, Skye, Wendy, Kerrianne, Trinity and I were currently seated around a table playing Bullshit. I casually put down my last card, and when Juan called Bullshit, I flipped it over with a grin, because it was, indeed, a Queen, as I'd said. "Awe, baby, I love you," I laughed at his face.

After I leaned over for a kiss, which he returned, he said, "I love you back," but it was more of a grumble. He was a sore loser, but the rest of us were laughing and having fun with the game. He began to shuffle the cards to deal them again, as I decided to go for refills. Juan and Chibs both needed a new beer, and Brie and Skye needed refills on their Sangria. Kerrianne and Trinity both had half-full glasses still. He slapped my ass as I walked away, and I turned to stick my tongue out at him. "Save that for later. I have plans for that tongue," he said and I blew him a kiss before going inside.

Inside it smelled amazing. I was carrying the three glasses as I went into the kitchen. "Do you guys need anything, before I head back outside?" I offered as I filled the glasses and grabbed the beers out of the fridge. Gemma, Maureen and Fiona looked at each other, then looked around, taking stock of what they were each doing, before they shook their heads. "Alright, if you do need help with anything, the offer stands. It smells amazing in here by the way," I smiled as I tucked the beers under one arm, picking up two glasses with one hand the third with my other as I headed back outside.

As I passed the living room, I saw Jax and Tara sitting on a couch with all three kids next to them. Kallie was napping in Tara's arms; Thomas was sitting in Jax's lap; and Abel was sitting between the two of them. Tig and Venus were also in the living room, as well as a couple members of SAMBEL, and I waved at the whole group before I headed back outside. Skye and Brie both took their sangria from me, and I set down my glass before giving Juan and Chibs their beers and taking my seat so we could begin another game. We played two more rounds. I won one, and Kerrianne won the other.

It wasn't long after we finished the second round that dinner was ready, so we all went inside to dish up plates. There wasn't a table big enough for all of us, but we'd put together two in the dining room and there was a table in the living room for anyone who wanted to sit there. We actually ended up with our SAMCRO members and family in the dining room with a couple exceptions, and SAMBEL ended up in the living room. It wasn't really planned that way, but I was glad our whole family was together. Nero sat at the head of the table, Gemma at his right, then Jax, Tara-who was holding Kallie-Abel, Thomas, Trinity, then me, and Juan was at the end of the table. To his left was Tig, Venus, Kerrianne, Chibs, Brie, Wendy and Skye.

Usually, my family went around the table and said what they were thankful for. We didn't do that, but I did decide to make a toast. "I'm thankful for my new husband, and family. Family for me has never been something to be grateful for. Not since my grandma died. I haven't enjoyed a holiday season like this since then, with the exception of a few years. So it's nice to actually enjoy a holiday, and I'm grateful to be a part of a family I actually feel accepted in. Cheers," I finished, taking a drink and biting back tears. "Now, we can eat. I've had my fill of mushiness for the year," I joked, and we all began to dig into the food, passing plates around.

Squeezing my hand under the table, Juan gave me a kiss. "I want you to look forward to and enjoy every holiday for the rest of our lives. I'm going to make sure that happens," he said, and I leaned over and kissed him. Nothing could sound more perfect to me, I told him. I looked around the table, and I knew he would keep his promise. We may have been missing some of our family who couldn't come overseas, but the atmosphere was so loving, and it felt so unlike anything I'd ever been a part of. Yeah, my family had been loving, but I'd never felt like I was a part of it, like I did here and now. I'd always felt like I was on the outside looking in. I much preferred it this way.

Later, after everyone had eaten and tables had been cleared, everyone was lounging about, either inside or outside, stuffed, as everyone should be after eating Thanksgiving dinner. Juan was sitting on a chair and I was on his lap, balancing most of my weight on the arm of the chair so I didn't squash him, even though he told me I couldn't if I tried. Gemma, Nero, Jax and Tara were sitting on the couch. Gemma was holding Kallie, feeding her a bottle, and Thomas and Abel were playing on the floor. Wendy was sitting in another chair, with Skye sitting on the floor between her legs as Wendy played with her hair. Tig and Venus were cuddled up at one end of the other couch, and Chibs and Brie were sitting at the other end of the same couch.

For a while, we all sat in comfortable silence, the TV on in the background, and Abel and Thomas the only other noise as they played on the floor. Gemma saw me staring at Abel and Thomas, and cocked an eyebrow at me. "So when are you two going to have one? And how many do you guys wanna have?" she asked in her typical blunt Gemma fashion. Both Brie and Skye perked up at the question, interested in what I was going to say. I honestly had no idea. I busied my mouth with taking another drink, leaving it up to Juan to answer the question.

With wide eyes he looked at me, and the rest of the room burst out laughing at our shock by the question, but I could tell Gemma still wanted an answer. I held Juan's gaze. "We've haven't even been married a month yet. We'll have kids when the time is right. We'll probably start actually trying for kids in like a year, but whenever it happens, it happens," I answered slowly, and Juan nodded in agreement. "As for how many, I dunno. In the past we planned on five. We both wanted a big family, but I guess we'll just see what happens," I finally looked over at Gemma, who gave me a nod at my answer.

After a while, everyone had dessert. I'd made a chocolate pie that I'd learned from my aunt. It had a layer of whipped cream and cream cheese mixed together, a layer of chocolate pudding and a layer of whipped cream on top, and the crust was an oreo cookie crust. That went fast, and I did get compliments on it. Even Gemma said I'd have to start making it every year. We slowly dispersed to bed after dessert, and I had to admit, this was probably the best Thanksgiving I'd ever had. I was looking forward to a whole lifetime of years like this, even if they'd be in the states instead of Europe. The setting didn't matter. The people you were surrounded by did.

 **A/N:** _Voila, chapter 4. I liked writing Thanksgiving for them. Next chapter, they'll be in London. I'll update in a couple days. Let me know what y'all think. And thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter. I'm going to try to keep up with this, and I think I'm going to start working on my other OTH fic again, and do some co-writing as well. So I'm hoping I'll be able to keep up the every-couple-days updates, but no promises. I do have up to chapter 8 finished, and I'm about half-way through chapter 9, so at least for now, while I'm ahead, they should be every couple days. Anyway, thanks everyone for reading and reviewing. I do appreciate it so much!_

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	5. London

While Gemma and Nero went back home, the rest of us went to London. We walked through Kensington gardens and then sat and ate breakfast that we'd packed in Hyde Park and let the boys run around for a while. Then we all wanted to see different things, so we split off to do separate bits of exploring before we met at the London Dungeons later. I was looking forward to that, because I loved Sweeny Todd, and for some reason serial killers fascinated me. Juan was walking in front of me as we walked, headed in no particular direction. He was wearing my favorite pair of jeans, and a SAMCRO tee-shirt underneath his improvised jacket with the reaper on it that replaced their cuts while they were overseas.

Somehow, I had ended up walking behind him, and something about watching his ass as he walked really turned me on. I had a thing for asses, what could I say? I ran up and grabbed his ass, jumping on his back so I could whisper into his ear. "So, we should head back to the hostel, unless you want me to jump you right here in public. It's kinda cold though. I wouldn't want either of us to get sick. It's your call," I licked and nipped the shell of his ear with my teeth. His hands had automatically grabbed my thighs to keep me steady when I jumped on him.

Glancing over his shoulder, he met my gaze. "Didn't you get enough last night?" he asked, and I shrugged innocently. I couldn't keep that up though, and gave him a devilish grin, saying that I could never get enough of him. "Well, then, I guess we'll have to go back to the hostel. I can't let my wife get sick, but I have to keep her happy at the same time," he kissed me deeply, his hands roaming and grabbing my ass. Our tongues began to dance as we stood still on the sidewalk, people walking past us as they went about their days. "Come on," he finally broke away and took my hand so we could hurry to the hostel.

As soon as the door to our room was closed, Juan had me pressed against the door, kissing and nipping at my neck. I moaned and tilted my head to give him more access, and he pulled my jacket off, dropping it as we both kicked off our shoes and socks. I had a thing about fucking with just socks on. I wouldn't do it. Either leave the shoes on too, or the socks have to come off. I was weird, but he accepted my quirks. I pushed him backward, so he was backing towards the bed as I took his jacket, and then his shirt off. I kissed and nipped at his chest, rubbing my hands up and down his abs. He played with the hem of my green tee-shirt and pulled it over my head, disposing of my bra shortly after that so he could play with my boobs. I unbuckled his jeans and pushed them and his boxers to the floor, getting on my knees to suck on his hardening cock.

After a few minutes, he stopped me, pulling me to my feet so he could remove my pants and take my black boyshorts off before picking me up and throwing me on the bed. I let out an unintentional giggle as I bounced on the bed, which was rare for me, and not necessarily normal during sex either, but he just accepted it, using one hand to massage one breast, teasing the nipple between his fingers, and his other hand was holding his weight off me as he straddled my waist and sucked and nipped at my other nipple. He kissed his way down my abdomen and started licking and sucking on my clit as he used three fingers to thrust inside me again and again. I felt my orgasm building as he kept going, and a few minutes later I was cumming as I moaned his name.

Far from finished, I pulled him up so I could kiss him, tasting myself on his lips, and then sucked each of his fingers clean. I got up off the bed and bent over it so he could fuck me doggie style, which was one of my favorite positions, and he slowly entered me from behind, growling softly. He started slowly, then built up speed. I gripped the sheets and bit onto the inside of my cheek to keep quiet as he pulled my hair, our hips moving in perfect synchronization, as he continued to thrust, hitting all the right places. We both came together a few minutes later, and I could taste blood due to how hard I'd been biting the inside of my cheek, but I didn't mind. I crawled up next to him to cuddle after he fell into the bed.

After spending about an hour just cuddling in bed, we decided to get out and explore some more before we had to meet everyone at London Dungeons. I texted Brie and Skye to find out where they were, and soon got a response that they were together, along with Chibs, Kerrianne and Wendy, trying to get a response from the guards outside of Buckingham palace. I laughed as I relayed this information to Juan, who suggested that we meet up with them, so we had to get out of bed and get dressed. "We spent so much time in bed on our honeymoon that we barely got to see Paris, and you still want to spend all our time in bed? While we're in Europe?" he cocked an eyebrow at me.

Shrugging, I began putting on my clothes. "It's not my fault you're sexy as fuck. Don't blame me for that," I winked at him. I looked in the mirror and winced at my sex hair. I combed my fingers through my curls, but that wasn't doing much, so I walked over my suitcase to dig inside it for my brush. Juan was dressed already, and teased me for taking so long. "Hey, you have it easy. All you have to do is get dressed. Your 'hawk doesn't exactly get messed up during sex. If I walked out of the hostel like this, to meet Brie and Skye, they're going to automatically know what we've been doing the past couple hours," I stuck my tongue out at him.

A few minutes later, we were walking down the street hand in hand, and I saw Brie, Skye and Kerrianne in the distance acting like idiots as they tried to get a response from the guards. Chibs and Wendy were watching them, amused smirks on their faces. "Can we move on to something else? Or do I have to act like I don't know you guys?" I asked as I reached my best friends. Brie flipped me off and Skye didn't bother with a response, but they did start acting normal again as our group walked and they began telling me what they'd been doing, following that up by asking what we'd been up to.

Glancing over at my husband, I didn't know what to say. I shrugged and said we'd gone to see the Tower of London, but at the same time he said we went to see Big Ben. I knew we should have collaborated a story, but as everyone turned to look at us with knowing looks on their faces, I knew we'd been caught. "Alright, we were fucking at the hostel. We're going to be in this city a few more days, it's not like we won't be able to see everything we want to see," I admitted. "Although, now that it's been mentioned, we should go see Big Ben. Anyone opposed to heading that way before the Dungeons?" I asked.

No one had any better ideas, so that was where we headed. We couldn't all fit on the sidewalk next to each other, so Chibs, Brie and Kerrianne were in front, Juan and I were in the middle, and Skye and Wendy were behind us. We were mostly in three separate conversations, but every so often, we jumped into each others to throw in a comment on something that was overheard. I loved being able to hang out like this, exploring a new city. Yes, we were going to be doing a lot of walking over the next couple months while we explored Europe, but it was a great chance to experience the culture in a way we wouldn't normally.

Just when we were about to stop near Big Ben, someone ran past me, and Wendy shouted simultaneously. I looked back, and realized the person running past had stolen her purse, but Juan and Chibs were already on it, running after the guy. I watched with the other women as we followed at a walk, while Juan tackled the guy, and Chibs took the purse back, handing it to Wendy when we approached. Chibs kicked the guy in the stomach, and Juan warned him against stealing from women, or anyone, really. "Thanks guys," she gave each of them a hug and I had to admit, there really was an advantage to having our guys around. Not many people would have acted so quickly, or at all.

After that, it was time to meet up with everyone else, so we headed to the Dungeons for the tour. It was ninety minutes, so when we met up with everyone at the entrance, the women headed for the ladies' room, because I didn't want to have to pee in the middle of it, and I brought the other women with me, because no woman likes to go to the bathroom alone. Wendy was recounting the purse snatching incident to Venus and Tara, and Venus nudged Tara. "See, isn't it good y'all stayed in Charming and didn't leave the MC. Our guys are protective and we're a family. There are perks to Jax being in the MC. It's not all bad and dangerous," she said. I wasn't really sure what Venus was talking about, but I made a mental note to talk to Tara about it some other time because we had to go before we were late.

Once that was over-and it was so good I almost wanted to sit through it again before we left London. I might have to talk Juan into taking me again before we left-we went to ride the Ferris wheel at the London Eye. It was just getting to be dusk, so it was a beautiful time to get a good view of the whole city. Abel and Thomas loved it, so we all went on it two or three times. We ate dinner at a nearby restaurant, and then we all decided to call it a night-Kallie was already passed out in her mother's arms, and Thomas was falling asleep in Jax's. Abel was the only child still walking-and headed as a group back to the hostel.

 **A/N:** _Sorry it's been so many days. I've been sick and I just got a new job and so I've been working full time instead of part time, and since I've been sick this week, when I'm not working, I've been in bed, not really wanting to do anything, including write. And since I haven't had much of a chance to write, I've been thinking about it, and back in high school when I was working on multiple projects and going to school, I had a regular update day once a week, and I think I might go back to that. I think that helps me, because then I've more time to make sure I get chapters the way I want them, and I'll be able to remember when I'm supposed to update. Working with a deadline has always helped me, too, so I should be able to get a chapter a week done. So I think Sunday seems like a good day, so I'll be posting a new chapter every Sunday from now on. So here's this weeks, and I hope you like it. Next week, I'll be posting the Rome chapter. And as for the comment Venus made to Tara, I realized I need to explain a bit more what happened in my version, and (I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong.) Krystal doesn't completely know all the ins and outs of the club life, so that comment will lead to a conversation about the past with Tara, and then she'll talk to Juice about keeping her in the loop more now that they're married, so when more club stuff happens in the next part, she'll be kept in the loop. Anyway, I think that's all I have to say. I hope you like this chapter and I hope y'all review. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews! I appreciate all of you!_

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	6. Rome

Four days later, we were in Rome. We planned on seeing the Colosseum, and the Sistine Chapel, and a few other places, but we spent our first morning wandering around before we went to the Trevi Fountain to eat lunch. In the afternoon, we were going to wander around Trastavere. It was a neighborhood south of the Vatican City that had a lot of cheaper shops and restaurants, but not really a lot of tourists. The women wanted a chance to pick up some souvenirs, as we planned on doing in every city, and the men were going to take Thomas and Abel to explore a museum. Jax was going to use it as a chance to teach them something, and then let them do some homework while we continued to shop.

While we were at the Trevi Fountain, we all threw in a coin. Just one, because, according to legend, if you throw one in, with your right hand over your left shoulder, you'll come back one day. If you throw two, you'll fall in love with an attractive Roman, and if you throw three, you'll marry that Roman. We were all happy with our relationships, so we settled with one, because it was a beautiful place and it would be amazing to come back and visit one day. While we were all at the fountain, I started talking to a group of Roman girls, because I wanted one to get a group photo of all of us in front of the fountain, and one of them said it was even more beautiful at night, so we decided to come back later to see.

Once the guys split off, after I had kissed Juan and teased him not to fall in love with any attractive Romans while we were apart, it was Kerrianne, Brie, Skye, Tara, Venus, Wendy and I walking around, going into each shop and gossiping as we slowly explored the neighborhood. Tara and I were both back in the dressing rooms at the same time, while everyone else was looking around the shop still, I decided to ask her about what Venus was talking about in London. "So while we were in the bathroom at the London Dungeons, Venus said something about you should be glad you didn't leave SAMCRO. What was she talking about?" I called over the stall wall as I slipped into a black and green cotton sundress.

For a moment there was no reply, and I was about to say something else, but Tara finally answered. "It's complicated. Are you sure you wanna hear all this? What exactly does Juan tell you about club business?" she asked. I realized he didn't tell me much at all, and I told her that, but I also added that it was going to change now that we were married. I wasn't some girlfriend who could be kept in the dark now. I was his wife and I expected there to be no secrets. "Good for you. As Gemma once told me, you love the man, you learn to love the club. Threaten him with no pussy if he doesn't tell you everything. It won't work otherwise," she trailed off and I realized she was outside my stall.

Opening the door, I let her in and she sat down on the bench. "I figured this conversation is best kept quiet and not shouted over stall walls," she explained. "I told you that Kallie came along a few years ago and fixed things for us, didn't I?" she asked and I nodded. "Well, I'll tell you why things were going so bad. We had a rough couple of years, mostly due to Clay, and Jax wanted to get us out of our more," she searched for the right word, "illegal business ventures. "Well I was threatening to leave. Things reached a boiling point. I almost divorced him and took the boys, but then I found out I was pregnant, and I couldn't leave," she paused.

Taking a deep breath, she looked at me and went on. "Well, even though I stayed, I wanted him to keep his promise to get us out of guns and into completely legitimate business. He's still working on that. He's trying to figure out a way to do it with as little blood shed as possible. So for now we're just kind of in a limbo, trying to balance everything so we don't lose anyone else, and still become legitimate eventually. In the months when things were really bad, we lost a few of our members and loved ones. I was nearly kidnapped, and could have been killed, if Jax hadn't been with me at the time. My hand got damaged so bad I wasn't able to be a surgeon for a while, though. I just hope things don't get worse again before they get better," she said with a shrug.

There was silence for just a moment as she thought of what else she could say. "If he had cut off the gun running part of the business, we wouldn't have been able to stay with our Belfast charter. The IRA and Real IRA are dangerous groups, and it wouldn't have been safe for us there. It wasn't safe the last time we were here, when Abel was kidnapped, because we were at odds with them," she finished, getting up and heading back into her own dressing room. I just let her go, giving her a forced smile and nod when she asked if I was okay.

For a moment I just sat there, trying to digest this information. I knew some things, but not really how dangerous the club could be. I thought back to what Matthew had said about me being in danger just being with Juan, even if he could keep me safe from my ex. I hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but I wondered if I would change anything if I had known about the danger then. I realized that even if I had known that I could be put in danger, I wouldn't have done anything any differently. A part of me had known about the danger surrounding the club, because of how badly he had been beaten when we first started seeing each other, and yet I had stayed. I knew I could handle anything else that happened.

With that realization in my head, I went back to shopping. I was going to have a talk with Juan when we got back about the no information no pussy thing, but that could wait. There wasn't much they had to do to keep the club running over here, and not a lot of danger. I knew Jax talked to both Opie and Gemma every day or every other day, so they could go over anything important, and if they had to vote on something, the guys discussed it in a room on their own, as they would if they were in chapel. I did hope, as Tara did, that we could get out of the dangerous stuff without losing any more lives. I had grown to love all the guys, and their Old Ladies, and even Chuckie, who I'd gotten to know over the months of wedding planning when I'd spent so much time at the garage and clubhouse with Gemma.

As we continued to shop, I wondered how much I would be able to share with Brie and Skye, and how much Chibs would share with Brie. I didn't keep secrets from them, so whatever I knew, I'd eventually tell them, so I guessed Chibs would just have to deal with that. I did agree with Tara, though, there was no halfway here. Juan had to tell me everything, or this would never work. Even when things got messy, or difficult, I had to be the person he opened up to and shared things with. Our lives were so different than they'd been when we'd last been together, but I knew we could change and adapt with these differences. We were different people, but we still loved each other just as much, and as long as we stayed open and kept talking, things would be alright. They had to be. I wasn't going to become a divorce statistic. I honestly didn't think there was anything Juan and I could overcome anyway.

Our day continued with more shopping, and then we decided it was time to enjoy some dinner, then we were going to go out. Skye and Wendy had actually agreed to stay in and watch Abel and Thomas, since the night we'd gone out to party in London, they had gone out while Jax and Tara stayed in with the boys. They were alternating. And even the rest of us had offered to stay in on occasion if we felt like staying in instead of going out. As the saying goes: It takes a village to raise a child. Or something like that. We all contributed, since Jax and Tara were homeschooling while we were over here.

As the Roman woman had said, the Trevi fountain was beautiful at night, and was surrounded by nightlife. We picked a bar to go into, and Brie and Chibs took drink orders, saying they'd go up to the bar while the rest of us found a place to sit. We found a booth, but as soon as they handed me my drink, I kinda chugged it, giving Juan a chance to do the same with his beer, before I pulled him out onto the dance floor. I loved the song that was playing and even though I normally don't dance, I figured I was in Europe with my husband, best friends and part of my now-large family; I could do things I normally wouldn't.

Before long, a group of us were in the dance floor. I'd had two more drinks, and was ordering a third. "Be careful, you don't want to land in prison in Rome for starting another bar fight," Brie teased me. I flipped her off jokingly and asked her what had happened with her and Crystal that night. "She was being a bitch, and telling me that I didn't know you that well, when clearly I know you better than her. She had been asking for it anyway, ever since she found out Skye and I were your MoH's and she wasn't. She's jealous over our friendship, you realize this, right?" she asked me.

Sighing, I nodded. "This is not the first time she's been jealous of me having more best friends than just her. Once in our freshman year I was getting close again with one of the friends I'd known since birth pretty much, but had lost touch with, and I called her my best friend I think it was during a stupid fight. I never even realized it had happened, or bothered Crystal, but she spent almost our whole sophomore year avoiding me, or making plans and flaking on me because she was hurt by one stupid comment. We made up, but, yeah, she's always been jealous of me having other best friends," I finished.

Shaking off the thought of Crystal, because I didn't even want to think about her drama right now, I went back to drinking and dancing. I pulled Juan onto the dance floor once more, but we barely finished the song before I was taking him back to the hostel we were staying at. He was right about me being insatiable lately. I just wanted to enjoy our time away from everything, and our newlywed bliss. I was pretty sure it wouldn't be long before we decided to have kids, and I wanted to enjoy our time without them, too. And, like I'd told him, he was sexy as fuck; I really couldn't be blamed for not being able to keep my hands off him.

 **A/N:** _I almost forgot it was Sunday and my day to update. It's been a long week. I've finally got a regular schedule with my new job though. My days off are Thursday and Friday, so I might end up posting next Friday, and make that my update day of the week from now on. I'll figure it out. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. I wanted a bit of a story on what had happened differently from the show. Let me know what you think. Thank everyone who reads and reviews. I appreciate it ever so much!_

 **Disclaimer _:_** _I don't own anything._


	7. Florence

Five days later, we were in Florence. I was really loving all the Italian cities. They had beautiful scenery and a lot of great history tied up in them. Our first stop for today was going to be the Piazzale Michelangelo. It was known for its spectacular views and, of course, the replica of Michelangelos David. There were a lot of stairs, but from my research, it was worth it. There was a nice Café up there where we could have breakfast, too. We were going to enjoy the view for probably an hour or two while we ate, and then we were going to wing it after that, walking around and finding nearby things to look at, but we did want to see the Palazzo Pitti, and Battistero today.

A pair of arms snaked around my waist while I was still half-asleep, and I felt Juan pressing kisses to my neck as he pulled me closer. I could feel his morning wood poking against my ass, too. "If you want morning sex before we go, you better wake up. We're supposed to be leaving in an hour. You slept in later than usual. I was going to wake you earlier, but you looked so peaceful, laying there, my own personal angel," he whispered against my ear. I lay there for another moment, trying to wake myself up, feeling completely content in the comfort of his arms. He reached down the front of my pajama shorts to start rubbing my clit with his thumb. That woke me up, and I was perfectly willing to comply with his request for morning sex.

As I was getting dressed 45 minutes later-we'd had a round of shower sex, too-I grabbed my birth control to take the pill. I popped out the Thursday pill, but something Juan was saying on the phone to Chibs had me hesitating. "Wait, what day did you say today is?" I called to him. He told me today was Friday, then went back to his conversation. I swallowed harshly. That meant I had missed a pill sometime since we'd been in Europe. I tried to think back to when I had missed it, and when my last period had been, but I couldn't quite remember either. I tried to take a deep breath. I'd only missed a day; I wasn't going to get pregnant from screwing up one day.

Sensing something was off, Juan looked over at me once he had closed his phone. "Something wrong?" he asked and I smiled over at him, shaking my head, popping out the Friday pill instead and tossing it in my mouth, swallowing it down with a drink of water. I told him everything was great as I stood and walked over towards him, standing on my tiptoes to give him a kiss before I grabbed my boots and a pair of mismatched socks to put on. "Good, cuz I kinda like you, you know?" he asked teasingly. I laughed and told him that I was getting kinda fond of him, too, and we both grabbed our jackets once I'd gotten my shoes on and went to meet the rest of our group outside the building.

With his arm around my shoulders and mine around his waist, we were headed with our group towards the Piazzale. About halfway up the stairs, both Thomas and Abel got tired of walking, so Juan took Thomas and put him on his shoulders, while Jax piggybacked Abel. Tara was holding Kallie, as usual, but she had her strapped to her chest in a moby wrap that she had bought specifically for this trip because she knew how much walking we'd be doing, and how much she'd have to be carrying Kallie. I couldn't help but grin as I saw Juan with Thomas. He was so good with the kids, I knew he was going to be an amazing father.

Were we ready for that now, though? I thought again of the missed pill, and decided to just put the whole incident from my mind until I knew more. I'd wait it out. Hopefully my period would come and it wouldn't be an issue, but I did know one thing: Even though we were still newlyweds, and not trying to get pregnant, there's no way we'd be doing anything but keeping the baby, if there was one. I'd already lost one baby; I wouldn't be able to give this baby up for adoption if we weren't ready to be parents. And I'd personally never be able to get an abortion. I knew how precious life was. Abortion might be right for some people. I understood that. It'd just never really be for me.

When we reached the top and found a Café that gave us a perfect view from our outside table-well, tables. We'd put like three of them together to fit all 13 of us that needed chairs; Kallie didn't need her own chair-we all examined the menus, definitely ready to eat after all those stairs. I examined the view after we'd all ordered, and tried to figure out where we were going next. I knew I wanted to go on a gondola ride with Juan, possibly at sunset, or dusk. It sounded romantic. I basically told him we were going on a date tonight. Tara laughed when she overheard. "Enjoy that newlywed phase while it lasts. I can't remember the last time Jax took me on an actual romantic date. When you have kids, they get to be few and far between," she joked.

Laughing, I took Juan's hand under the table so he'd know I was joking. "Why do you think I tell him we're going on a romantic date. If I waited on him to plan them, we'd never do anything," I joked. He pretended to be offended and brought up our first date, and the date when he proposed as examples of him being romantic. "I was just kidding, love. You always plan perfect dates, and you can always tell what kind of mood I'm in. You know me well, and I don't doubt that you'll continue to know when and when not to be romantic," I leaned over the table and gave him a kiss, to which we got whistles, and Tig telling us to get a room, and Brie and Skye teasing me and saying I was going soft. I just flipped them all off and our food came, changing the subject.

After we'd all eaten, we were headed back down the stairs to see our next sight, when I heard my name being called. We had just passed a group of guys, but I didn't think much of it, because I knew it wasn't anyone in our group, and I was pretty sure I didn't know anyone in Italy, so I figured it must be a coincidence. I only turned when I heard it called a second time, and I realized I did recognize one of the Italian guys. "Holy fuck. Nesta?" I asked, walking up to give him a hug. "It's been years since we've even talked. I can't believe you remember me, much less recognized me as I passed," I laughed.

Noticing that everyone else was looking at me strangely, waiting for me to explain, I realized Nesta still had his hand on my arm and I took a step back over to Juan, taking his hand and pulling him closer. "Nesta, this is my husband, Juan, but everyone calls him Juice. Babe, this is Nesta. I met him years ago online. We kept up with each other for a few years, but I haven't spoken to him in like four years," I explained, then introduced everyone else, before I turned back to Nesta. "Dude, I heard you're married with a kid. Truth or gossip?" I had to ask as we stood there to catch up for a minute.

With a wince, he explained that he had been married, and did have a baby, but he and his wife were separated and had been for a couple months. I didn't want to bore everyone else while we caught up, but he offered to show us around, so we could hang out and talk more, and we could get a native's tour of the area. It seemed like a good idea, so we agreed and he told his friends he'd see them later before he took the lead, and we all began walking again. Juan stayed close to my side, a territorial arm over my shoulders, as we walked and Nesta and I caught up, mentioning old mutual friends and what we knew had become of them.

While we were taking a bathroom break a few hours later, Brie and Skye cornered me as I was washing my hands, demanding to know the whole story. "Okay, yeah, we dated for a bit, but obviously it didn't go anywhere. I liked him a lot. Talked about possibly meeting in person, but it never happened. We ended up breaking up, and then I met Luciano and the rest is history. Why?" I cocked an eyebrow, wondering how they were able to tell that there was romantic history between Nesta and I. I had never even mentioned him to them, because I had known him before them, and he'd never seemed important enough to mention. Just this fling with a hot European guy who I'd likely never meet in person.

Sharing a look, Brie was the one who answered, being blunt as usual. "Because he's totally into you," she said, and I started shaking my head to deny it, but Skye nodded. "He really is. Everyone can tell he's flirting with you, even if you've always been too dense to be able to tell. Why do you think Juice has been glued to your side since he started leading us around? He's totally claiming his property. You've gotta tell this guy to back off, or something, or they might get into it," she told me. I thought this over as we went to rejoin the others, and I began to notice some signs as we picked a restaurant and ordered lunch.

As always, Brie was right. He was flirting. I was never able to tell unless I was slapped in the face with it, and I made sure to keep close to Juan's side, and I made a few pointed comments about us being happy, to kind of ease tension between the two. I didn't like confrontation. It really fucked with my anxiety, which had admittedly been better lately as I grew more confident with myself, but I still wasn't going to just outright say, "Stop flirting with me," in case he wasn't even doing it intentionally. It did help, though, and I managed to get us through the rest of the afternoon with no fights breaking out.

That evening, Juan and I left everyone else to go on our Gondola ride, while Nesta showed most of the rest of them a really good bar-Tig and Venus had offered to stay in and babysit the kids tonight. I leaned my head on his shoulder as we sat in comfortable silence. "You know I'm yours and only yours. No matter who flirts with me. I don't see anyone else that way. I didn't even realize he was flirting until right before lunch when Brie and Skye told me," I reassured him as our ride was ending. We were supposed to go meet up with everyone else, but I suddenly had other plans. "Your territorial, jealous side is really hot, though. So, I was thinking we should call it an early night and go back to the hostel instead," I lowered my voice seductively to whisper in his ear. He immediately agreed, of course, so that's what we did.

 **A/N:** _I almost forgot today was Sunday. Time has been passing so quickly now that I've got a new job, that a week passes and I barely even notice, hahah. And I haven't entirely decided if she'll be pregnant yet, but it will at least add a little drama in for a couple chapters. I hope you guys liked this chapter. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews. Please let me know what you think._

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	8. Tuscany

While we were in the Florence area, Nesta had suggested spending a couple days in Tuscany, so that was where we went next. I did want to see the leaning tower of Piza, as did the rest of us, so we all decided to go. We didn't really have a set schedule or travel itinerary in mind, so it worked out. I'd been internally stressing over the missed pill for the past week, debating on whether or not to alert Juan of the incident. I mean, if nothing came of it, was there a reason to worry him too? On the other hand, maybe it wouldn't hurt to let him know, and see how he felt about it. I did know not telling anyone was driving me crazy though.

Thinking back, I realized I would probably know soon one way or another. I had already finished that month's pills, and started the next and I was pretty sure my period was already late by at least a week. So for all I knew, I was pregnant. But my period was never regular, because I have PCOS, so there are times when I don't have a period at all one month. The pill had stabilized that a bit, as it was supposed to, but it wasn't perfect. Also, I still didn't know when I'd missed the pill, so I still didn't really have a clue, so I wasn't sure what I could tell him.

As we were getting ready to go with everyone to see the tower, Juan stopped me as I was walking toward the door of our room. I turned back to look at him. "Are you okay? Be honest. I can tell something's been on your mind," he said, and I couldn't lie to him, so I sat him on the bed and spilled the whole story. "Krystal Leann. We're married. If you get pregnant now, we can handle becoming parents. If it happens, it happens. Don't worry so much. What's meant to be will be, you should know that better than anyone," he reassured me.

Letting out a breath I didn't realize I was holding, I smiled at him, leaning over to give him a grateful kiss. "I'm glad you feel that way. You're right about me worrying too much, but you know me. I spend a lot of time overthinking everything. And you're right, if it's meant to be, it'll happen, if not, it'll happen later. Our relationship has definitely taught me that," I said. I pulled him up and out the door, because I could hear Chibs in the hall telling us to hurry up. No one came into our room unannounced anymore, because 90% of the time we were in there, we were naked, either because we were having sex, or we were sleeping, and we slept naked, even though it was winter, and going to start snowing any day.

Luckily, we had all dressed warm, because it did, in fact, start snowing as we were walking to the tower. I got really excited over this, but I was pretty much the only one. I just liked snow. I had never gotten to really experience it until I moved out of California, and I didn't like North Dakota winters, which were much too cold for my taste, as it was more often than not too cold to even snow, but I had enjoyed my winter in Iowa. Part of me had always wanted to move out of California. I thought the Pacific Northwest would be the perfect location for me; it wasn't too hot in the summer, it rained most of the year, which I would love, and it got some snow but not too much snow during the winter. Maybe I could convince Juan to retire there with me, or it was something to think about in the future, but I knew we weren't leaving Charming anytime soon.

After we had all taken pictures at the tower, Venus brought up going to a winery. Everyone else seemed to agree that it seemed like a good idea, but I was hesitant. If I did happen to be pregnant, I wasn't sure drinking was a good idea, but how could I really refuse when I didn't know for sure, without raising suspicions? I decided a glass or two of wine wouldn't hurt, but I was going to have to find a way to casually limit my drinking on the rest of the trip in a way that wouldn't be too obvious. At least until I knew for sure if I was or wasn't. I'd figure out when and how we'd tell everyone if there was a need. Juan squeezed my hand as we walked, as if he could read my thoughts and was trying to reassure me again.

For the most part, I only took a sip off of each of the glasses, setting them down without finishing them. They were all very good, but I was being good. I was also trying to make sure no one noticed. Halfway through, I had to stop to go to the bathroom and Venus came with me. "Are you pregnant?" she asked as we were standing at the sinks washing our hands. I looked at her with wide eyes, but she just smiled. "Dear I noticed the way you haven't been drinking much. I've seen you drink wine, and under normal circumstances, you would not be taking only a sip of each glass," she smiled and patted my hand. "I won't tell anyone. I am, after all, the Belle who Does Not Tell," she added.

Taking a deep breath, I considered. I hadn't even told Brie and Skye yet. If they found out I had confided in someone else before them, they wouldn't be very happy. They'd accept it eventually though. Venus had noticed first, so I figured I should be honest with her. "I dunno yet, actually. It's too early to even know. I just missed a pill and I dunno when I did. So I know one mess up doesn't necessarily mean a pregnancy. It'd take a lot of other things to align at the same time. I'm not sure if I'm late yet, because I can't remember the date of my last period. I also have PCOS, so my periods are irregular. Being on the pill helps that, but sometimes they still skip a month every once in a while," I realized I was rambling and stopped myself.

Grinning, she clapped her hands together. "That's amazing. You two will be great parents, and the clubhouse needs more kids around. Whatever is going to happen, will happen. Don't worry so much. Actually, I have something to get off my chest, since we're in the sharing mood," she said and I gestured for her to continue. "Well, I have a son. He's almost eighteen. His mother died a few years ago and he doesn't know I'm his father. I never wanted to confuse him, so we always told him I was his aunt, and when his mother died, I sent him up north to stay with some friends," she explained and I nodded, because I could sense there was more she needed to say.

After a moment, she finally continued. "Well, he wants to come down for a visit once he's eighteen. I'm thinking of telling him the truth. Alex supports whatever I want to do, but I'm still scared I'll back out once he actually comes down to visit. We're planning on a few months from now, after his birthday and after we're all back from Europe," she told me. "My mother was very abusive, in various ways, including verbally. She didn't understand my transformation, and my family as a whole is the same way. I'm just worried Joey won't want to know me anymore after he finds out," she confessed.

Looking at her sympathetically, I gave her a hug. I wasn't trans myself, but I'd known quite a few trans people, and I considered myself an advocate for them, even if I wasn't always as active about it as I should be. I definitely jumped into a conversation anytime I heard someone being transphobic. "I think you need to be honest with him. He'll either understand, and love you anyway, hopefully. Or maybe he'll need you to explain it better. Some people hate out of ignorance and not just because they're assholes. But you'll never know what's going to happen until you tell him, and he deserves to know the truth," I told her.

Smiling, she nodded. "You're right, of course. And I suppose it's just like I told you. Whatever is going to happen, will happen. I should probably take my own advice more often," she laughed, and I linked my arm through hers as we left the bathroom to rejoin everyone else. I genuinely enjoyed hanging out with Venus. She was so sure of herself and who she was; the world really needed more of that. It had taken her years to get to where she was, and obviously she still had moments of self-doubt, but she gave me hope for myself, because she'd been through so much and had conquered it. I wanted to be that way, too.

After another hour or two, we were all back at the hostel for the night, chilling together in the room Jax, Tara and the kids were in, because there was more space than the rest of our rooms. Theirs was the only one with two beds. Chibs, Brie, Skye and Wendy were sitting on one bed; Tig, Venus, Jax and Tara were on the other bed; and the kids were playing on the floor. I was laying on the floor on my stomach and Juan was sitting on my butt, giving me a back massage while we all talked. I had talked him into it after getting Brie to walk on my back because it was bothering me.

As he massaged, I listened to everyone else talking about the winery we had gone to, but I had my eyes closed and wasn't really contributing to the conversation. I was starting to let my mind wander to sex, and Juan, of course, was on the same page. He leaned down so he could whisper in my ear. "So, we can go back to our room and continue this, clothing optional," he nipped at the shell of my ear in a way that he knew sent shivers down my spine, directly to my vagina. It never failed to turn me on. I nodded, and he got up, helping me to my feet. "See you guys tomorrow," he didn't bother to make up an excuse, he grabbed my hand and headed for the door, and I called a goodnight over my shoulder.

Once we were in our room, he sat on the bed and I straddled his waist, and we started with making out, like him massaging me for the past hour hadn't been enough foreplay. Our tongues danced and he broke the kiss only to pull my shirt over my head. I took his off at the same time, and then our mouths crashed together again as I moved my hips against his. He reached around and unhooked my bra, slipping it off without breaking the kiss. He bit on my lip causing me to moan in a blissful mix of pleasure and pain, and I felt his erection growing. He stood, holding onto me, before turning and tossing me on the bed.

Unbuckling his belt and unbuttoning his pants he kicked off his shoes before shedding his pants and boxers, then he took my pants and panties and pulled them down my legs before he crawled onto the bed, holding himself above me as he kissed me once more. I wrapped my legs around his waist, but he raised them, putting one over each shoulder before thrusting inside me, filling me completely. There had been a time years ago when I'd questioned how flexible I was, but he had changed that. He picked up speed a few minutes later as I felt my orgasm building, and soon enough I was tumbling over the edge, raking my nails down his chest as I did, and he followed.

For a few moments, he held himself above me and I moved my legs off his shoulders. I could feel my legs shaking with the orgasm still as he rolled off of me, pulling out. I followed after him, laying my head on his chest as he lay on his back, wrapping his arm around me as we shifted to pull the blanket out from under us so we could get under it. I turned my head to place a kiss on his tattoo before I laid my head back down so I could listen to his heartbeat as I drifted off to sleep. "I love you, wife," he murmured, rubbing a hand up and down my arm and placing a kiss on the top of my head. I said the words back before I was asleep.

 **A/N:** _I am SO sorry. I seriously have not had a day off since last Tuesday, which makes for a good paycheck, but not a lot of free time. And when I'm not at work, I'm taking care of my daughter and my mother, or cleaning the house, so I really haven't had time to write. I'm not even off today, I just realized Sunday had passed and I hadn't posted, and this chapter was finished, so I decided to post it before I go to work. I should have chapter 9 ready to post by Sunday, if I get a day off, but after that, I may have to just start posting when I have chapters written instead of once a week. I'm really sorry. I have the ideas now, but not the actual time to write. It's been a while since I've worked a full time job, and on top of my part time job as well, and being a mom, I'm still trying to find the balance to do the other things I like to do. Hopefully everything will balance out soon. Anyway, I'll stop boring y'all. I really hope you liked this chapter. And chapter nine will reveal whether or not she's pregnant. Look forward to that. Please review, and thanks everyone who reads and reviews!_

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	9. Monaco

About a week later, we'd been in Monaco a few days, and I'd been waking up puking for at least three mornings in a row. I hadn't said anything to Juan yet. I kept waking up nauseous, but I'd managed to puke and brush my teeth before he woke up each morning, and I was thankful that I usually woke up before him. I knew today I'd have to take a test, but I didn't want to let him know until I knew one way or another. Christmas was coming up in a few days, and if I was pregnant, I'd already thought of a way to let him know. I would need to find a way to get a pregnancy test and take it, though, and I was trying to figure out a way to do that today.

This morning, we were all walking through the Prince Grace Rose Garden after breakfast, and then the women were going to Les Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo, which translated to "The sea baths of Monte-Carlo," and was the most favored spa in Monaco. The guys were going back to the Monte-Carlo Casino while we did that. We'd spent a couple other evenings there already, but the guys always loved any chance to gamble and drink. The women were going to meet them there after we finished with our afternoon at the spa.

Tomorrow we were taking the boys to the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium for the afternoon, because we hadn't gone to a zoo yet, and most of us were up for a day spent looking at animals native to the area. I hadn't even been to an aquarium, or a zoo, at all, so I was almost as excited as the boys. Kerrianne had said she'd been to it before, and it was actually a really nice place. We would have checked out the beach while we visited, but since it was winter, it wasn't beach weather. Brie, Skye and I were almost as disappointed as the guys that we wouldn't get to see any topless women at the beach. Wendy probably was too, but I hadn't asked her.

While we were walking to the rose garden, I decided that I needed some moral support, even though I wasn't ready to let Juan know yet. I was going to have to ask Venus to sit with me later while I took the test, because she was the only other one to know that I might possibly be pregnant. I didn't want to alert Skye or Brie before I told Juan for sure, and since Venus had sort of guessed, I figured she wouldn't mind being my moral support. I'd enlist her help once we separated from the guys. I just had to find a place to buy a pregnancy test while we were on the way to the spa. I was fairly sure I'd be able to break away for a bathroom break to take the test quite easily once we were there getting our various treatments.

By the time I re-entered our room from the bathroom, Juan was waking up. He wasn't quite awake yet, though. I slipped the robe off and crawled onto the bed, straddling his waist and then laying so I was pretty much on top of him. I kissed him and moved my hips, rubbing against his morning wood. He reacted pretty quickly, even though he was still waking up. His hands moved to my hips and he began kissing me back. I slid onto his dick, riding him slowly. His hips moved against mine perfectly. I rode him for a while before we both came together and I collapsed on him for a moment before rolling off and resting my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head. "I love you, beautiful," he said.

Grinning, I looked up at him. "I love you back," I replied before getting out of bed so we could get ready. We showered together, and then went back to our room to get dressed. I picked out a pair of black leather pants and a green Pride tee-shirt and put them on, watching Juan as he got dressed. I watched him put on boxers, and then jeans, and socks and boots, in that order, as he always did, and smiled widely. He was a bit OCD in his routines; He always did things the same way every day. "You know, I'm really glad I married you. I want to spend every morning for the rest of our lives getting ready together," I walked over and gave him a kiss, before handing him his shirt.

Wrapping his arms around my waist, he kissed back. "I'm glad I married you, too. And we will spend every morning of the rest of our lives together. I take our vows seriously, as I know you do," he replied before putting his shirt on and then his jacket. I put my boots on and then grabbed my leather jacket so we could go meet the others for breakfast. I got a text from Crystal, some form of apology. I grimaced at my phone when I saw her name pop up and deleted the text without reading it. "Are you ever going to forgive her?" he asked. I guessed that he had seen her name too. She'd sent a few and I'd deleted every one.

Honestly, I knew he thought I should forgive her. I knew why he was right. Rationally, it was the good thing to do to forgive her and move on, or at the very least hear her out. But I was tired of being rational and kind when it came to her. I knew we'd been friends since we were eight, and that was going on eighteen years now, but I'd been loyal to that friendship and let her treat me like shit for years. I was tired of being that person, the loyal person who stayed by the people she loved even when they treated her like shit. I had cut off Crystal with my family, and I had given her another chance and she'd blown it. I just shook my head, and he held his tongue, but I could tell he wanted to say more.

Luckily, before my ex best friend could cause my first fight with my husband, Brie and Skye came knocking on the door, saying the others were going to leave without us if we didn't get a move on. I took his hand, and the moment of tension passed as we went to breakfast with our friends. I went outside with the guys to smoke after we'd ordered, and I thought about the life that might be growing inside me. I would definitely quit smoking if I was pregnant, which, in theory, meant that this might be one of my last cigarettes for a long time. I tried not to dwell on that, and soon enough my cigarette was gone and we went in to eat.

A couple hours later, I'd just finished my massage and had pulled Venus into the bathroom with me before we were supposed to go get mud baths together. I had gone into a drug store on my own earlier while we were walking to the spa, and purchased a pregnancy test and a soda, hiding the pregnancy test on me until I was able to use it. I had texted Venus once we were at the spa to let her know what I needed to do and my plan for doing it. She stayed near the door while I went in the stall to pee on the stick.

The three minutes of waiting for the results were torture. She had set a timer on her phone, and I paced back and forth while the minutes slowly passed. I had set the stick on the counter by the sink, right next to the box and instruction paper. "Krystal, dear, you need to calm down. Pacing a hole in the floor isn't going to change the results when they come out," Venus laughed as I paced. I paused to stick my tongue out at her, but kept pacing. I paced the room two more times before the timer went off. I froze in my place and then slowly walked over, studying the stick and then the instructions. "Well, what does it say?" Venus asked from her place by the door when I didn't say anything for a few moments.

Wordlessly, I handed the instructions to her as she approached and glanced over my shoulder at the stick. I needed a few moments to process. She waited for my response. "I'm pregnant," I finally said, testing the words on my tongue. I ran a hand through my hair, biting on my lip. "I'm pregnant," I repeated, before I finally grinned. "Juan and I are gonna have a baby," I couldn't help but squeal a little and jump up and down a little before I gave her a hug. It had taken me some time to figure out how I felt, but I was suddenly very excited about this. I placed my hand lovingly over my stomach. "I'm going to be a mom," I kept saying it in different ways because I was trying to wrap my mind around it.

Grinning at me, Venus hugged me back. "You're going to be an amazing mother, dear. Now, how are you going to tell Juan?" she asked, using his real name. She was the only one besides me who did, but she called all the guys by their real names, of course. "When are you going to tell him?" she was as pleased as I was, and seemed excited to be the first one to know. I told her about the idea I had to reveal it to him on Christmas, and then invited her to come shopping with me, since she was the only one who knew. "I'd love to. That is such a cute idea!" she exclaimed.

Laughing, I took another moment to really feel excited about it. "Okay, now we need to chill out, put away our excitement, and pretend this didn't happen. I don't want anyone else guessing or anything," I took a deep breath to calm myself and she took my lead. I threw away the test and grabbed a bunch of paper towels, wadding them up and throwing them into the trash on top of the test, in case one of my friends came in after me. I knew they wouldn't be able to prove it was mine, but if someone asked me about it, I knew I would have a hard time lying to my friends, especially if it was Brie or Skye.

After I was sure no one coming into the bathroom next would see it, we left the bathroom and went back to our mud baths. Brie and Tara were in their baths already, and Skye and Wendy were off doing some other type of treatment, because they'd decided against mud baths. Brie shot me a weird look and asked what took so long in the bathroom and I froze, but Venus saved me by coming up with a quick excuse. Brie stared at me for a moment longer, but I shrugged it off and got in the bath, acting like nothing was up and Venus changed the subject, which caused Brie to stop looking at me, and conversation went on without me having to lie to Brie, which was good, and she seemed to forget anything odd had happened, thankfully.

A/N: _I am SOOOOOO sorry! In the beginning of February, I was busy with a family crisis and going through a bit of writers block, and then I broke my hand/arm, and wasn't able to write at all for six weeks, but I'm back now! My cast is finally off! And here's the good news! I decided she is pregnant! I hope y'all like this chapter. Next chapter is Christmas, and she will tell Juan. Please review! And thank you to everyone who does read and review. I really appreciate it. I hope there are still people reading this. I think my writers block from the beginning of Feb. is gone and I should be back to updating every week, but I make no promises because between both my jobs I'm working anywhere between 50 and 60 hours a week. Please, please, please review! (I know I'm begging, but I'm missing one of my favorite reviewers, who suddenly stopped reviewing each chapter like they used to. Majestic Butterfly, I dunno if you're still reading, but I hope you're doing okay. =])_

Disclaimer: _I don't own anything._


	10. Christmas

Somehow during the day, while we'd all been exploring Istanbul, we'd all started talking about Christmas presents, and everyone, including Gemma, surprisingly, had all groaned and complained about the fact that they still had gifts to wrap tonight before going to bed. At least, everyone but me had complained, which is, I think, how I ended up being the one stuck up in the middle of the night, wrapping everyone's gifts. I don't quite remember how the conversation flowed, but I remember saying I liked wrapping gifts, then suddenly everyone else was asking me to wrap their stuff for them and I had never quite managed to figure out how to say no in a situation like this. I didn't really mind doing it, though, so I suppose it wasn't such a bad thing I hadn't been able to say no.

As we'd all walked back into the hostel, I had quickly wrapped Juan's gift, which I had purchased a couple of days ago with Venus's help (She was so excited about the idea I'd had that she'd insisted on coming along with me to shop for him.) while everyone else gathered and labeled the gifts the had bought and who they were to and from (Mostly the couples had bought for each other, since we were all a little short on funds due to the trip, but we'd all gotten something for each of the kids as well.) and then brought them to me one by one. I had Juan join me in our room, since I'd hidden his gift after I'd wrapped it, and closed the door and began wrapping presents.

That had been four hours ago, however, when we'd arrived back at the hostel for the night, and I was still only halfway done with the pile of presents to be wrapped. I was suddenly regretting being so agreeable about wrapping everyone's gifts to each other, mainly because I was starting to get tired and wanted to go to bed with my husband, who I could tell was beginning to fall asleep. He'd been quiet for the past few minutes, so I actually thought he had fallen asleep while I was concentrating on wrapping this antique jewelry box that Chibs had gotten for Brie. "You know, for someone who said they liked to do this, you would think you'd be better at it," he spoke up from his place on the bed behind me.

Turning so I could raise one eyebrow at him, I casually raised the middle finger and pretended to scratch my temple with it as I went back to the present. "I am a firm believer that you don't have to be good at something to like it, as you know. I'm horrible at video games, but still have fun playing them," I leaned back against the bed for a moment to rest my back, as I'd been hunching over. "Besides, I didn't see you or anyone else volunteering. If they have a problem with my wrapping, they could have done it themselves," I added, lifting my shoulder in a shrug.

Leaning over, he began to place kisses on the back of my neck, which is, I suspect, why he never moved from the bed after getting into it two hours ago. Before then, he'd been sitting in the chair in the room as I sat on the floor and leaned against the bed. He thoroughly enjoyed distracting me, although, I'd definitely been enjoying the distractions, which is why I still had so many presents to wrap. "Are you going to be done any time soon? You know the boys are going to want to wake everyone early in the morning, as young kids often do on Christmas morning," he muttered as he continued kissing me.

Moving the wrapped jewelry box over and grabbing another gift to wrap, I tried to ignore the temptation to get back into bed with my husband. "I'd be closer to done if you hadn't already tempted me into the bed with you when you got into it. You distracted me quite thoroughly for over an hour," I turned my head to look at him, giving him a quick kiss, but then pulling back. "I'm pretty sure everyone else is already asleep though, so let me get this done, or I'm going to pass out before I finish. It's past two already. If I don't do this, the kids won't have anything to open in the morning when they wake us up," I tried to sound stern, but he just grinned at me. "What?" I cocked an eyebrow.

Shaking his head slightly, he leaned over and kissed my nose, then sat back again, leaving me to wrap the presents. He was still sending me an adoring grin though, so I raised an eyebrow in question. "You're going to make an amazing mom. Whether it's now, or years from now," he said, and I could feel the blush rising in my cheeks. I still wasn't good at taking compliments. I was very pleased he said that, but I didn't quite know what to say, since I was still planning on telling him the truth with my Christmas present for him, I didn't want to ruin it. So I returned my attention to the task at hand.

Still feeling his gaze on me, I bit on my lip. I was scared of being a mom, truthfully, because my own mom wasn't exactly the best example. My father was an even worse example. I just wanted to be better than my own parents, but I wasn't sure I could be. I was also worried that he would think it was too soon to have kids. He had just said "now or years from now." Yes, he had reassured me, but with my past, I still trusted actions more than words. So I wouldn't really believe he'd be okay with this until I'd told him and he still kept reassuring me, in actions and words, that he did want this.

Reaching up, he tugged on my hair, to get me to look at him, but before he could say anything, I turned a smirk on him. "You know? I'm going back to my pixie cut once we're back home. I grew my hair out a bit for the wedding, but I love my hair short. I'll probably grow it really long again in a few years, but I miss the short hair. Easier to take care of and everything. The point is, you're not gonna have that much to pull for that much longer," I stuck my tongue out at him playfully, trying to get the subject changed, so he wouldn't keep talking about the kind of mother I'd make, as I knew he'd been about to do.

Of course, my plan worked, and we were back to the playful banter, and easy conversation that had been going on most of the night while I'd been wrapping presents. A couple hours later, I was finished wrapping, but he had already passed out on me. I considered what to do with all the presents. We didn't really have a Christmas tree in the hostel, at least not one for our (meaning our whole group, not just me and Juan) personal use, so I considered for a minute before grinning with an idea. I was a HUGE Harry Potter nerd, and since we just so happened to be in Europe, albeit, not in Britain, but still, I was greatly amused by the idea of depositing the presents at the foot of everyone's bed, as JK Rowling had done in her books.

After sneaking into each room and placing presents at the foot of each bed, with Abel, Thomas and Kallie's piles being the largest, of course, which was okay since they happened to be the shortest so had more room at the foot of their bed, I crawled into my bed with my husband. I had placed his present at the foot of our bed, and since he was laying on his side, I pushed my back up against his chest and he immediately responded, even though he was still more than half asleep. He pulled me closer into the spooning position, kissing my hair. "I love you. Goodnight," he mumbled, and I repeated it back with a grin even though I was fairly sure he was already sleeping again, before I fell asleep as well.

Indeed, it was only a few short hours after I finally fell asleep that I was awoken by shouts of the boys at the door. "Auntie Krystal, Uncle Juice, it's Christmas!" Thomas shouted, before moving on to the next door. I heard Abel shouting at Skye and Wendy's door across the hall. The plan everyone had decided on yesterday was that Abel and Thomas would get to knock on our doors to get us up when they did, and each couple would quickly open their gifts from each other before we all met up to watch the kids open their gifts. Then we'd all spend the day together, somewhat in the same way we had on Thanksgiving, but we wouldn't be needing to cook today, as the hostel owner had assured us that their cooks were preparing a lovely Christmas dinner for everyone staying there.

Rolling over, I noticed Juan was waking, too. I couldn't help it. The anticipation was getting to be too much. I sat up, letting the sheet and blanket fall down to expose my breasts since I'd disposed of clothes before climbing into bed with him last night, as usual, and grabbed his present from the foot of the bed. I dropped it on his chest just as he was reaching out to start the morning off with sex. I wanted to, but knew we wouldn't have time, so I grabbed the tee-shirt he had disposed of last night and pulled it on. "Happy Christmas, love. Now, open it," I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss, then gestured to the gift.

Giving me an amused look at my impatience (most of the time I can be the most patient person, but when it comes to people I love, I tend to be a little impatient) he slowly sat up and started unwrapping the gift. "Merry Christmas, wife," he said, as he opened the box and noticed what was inside. There were three items inside. One was a white tee-shirt with the words "World's Greatest Dad," on it in SAMCRO blue, and the other was a tiny newborn beanie, with the reaper on it. I had gotten the hat in green, because it was a gender neutral color, and my favorite color, of course. I had also given him the rest of the last pack of cigarettes I'd bought, because I was quitting due to the pregnancy. He stared down at the items for a moment, then looked up at me. "You're pregnant?" he asked, still processing, and I nodded, unable to say anything as I waited for his reaction.

Standing up, he let out a whoop of happiness and ran around the bed, picking me up and spinning me around before lowering me gently onto his lips and kissing me passionately. I laughed as he spun me, but quickly gave into the kiss, feeling my worries melt away. I breathlessly asked him if he was okay with this, only half serious, just to be absolutely sure, when I broke the kiss. "Krystal Leann Ortiz. I told you. You are going to be an amazing mother, and we are going to have amazing kids. We have planned on getting married and having kids since you were fifteen. Yeah, it didn't happen exactly as we planned, but who cares? We're married now, we have steady jobs and make enough money. There is no reason to wait to have children. Yes, I am completely okay with you being pregnant with our child," he assured me.

A weight lifted off my shoulders then, as I realized that he really meant it, and I realized again why I was so in love with him and why I knew we'd last forever. In past relationships, my exes had never completely understood why I needed reassurances. Some had gotten annoyed, but I couldn't help my anxiety, or my worry, which only increased due to these exes, that I wasn't good enough, or I was going to do something wrong and make them leave. Juan, however, took it in stride. I could tell it upset him that I needed the reassurances, in a way I hadn't back when we'd first been together, but not in the same way it'd upset people in my past. In the past, people had always been annoyed at me for needing to be reassured. He was upset with the people in my past who had fucked me up so bad to cause me to need the reassurance.

Taking a deep breath, I kissed him once more, leaning my forehead against his when I pulled away, my arms still wrapped around his neck. "I love you, Juan Carlos Ortiz. I have since I was fifteen, and I'm pretty sure I will until the day I die. We're starting our family," I whispered giddily against his lips. He nodded, and repeated the words back to me, just as giddily as I had, which caused me to start giggling, because giddy was cute on him. I pulled him back into another kiss, and he tried to progress things, but I realized we'd better get a move on before everyone was waiting on us. I opened his gift, which happened to be a beautiful silver necklace with the double infinity symbol. I told him I loved and had him clasp it around my neck before we went to join the others.

 **A/N:** _Here's the new chapter! I was going to have Christmas be all in one chapter, but I decided to split it up, and next chapter when I update next week will also be Christmas still, and it will be in Skye's point of View. That's all I'm going to say about that for now. But I hope you like this chapter! Please review! Thanks to everyone who read and the person who reviewed the last chapter. I really appreciate it so much!_

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	11. More Christmas

(Skye's POV)

After the children had opened presents and everyone had eaten breakfast, Wendy and I broke away from the rest of the group for the date I had planned. I told her I wanted her alone to give her the Christmas present I had for her. She had agreed this morning that we could slip away from everyone for part of the day so we could have a nice date on our first Christmas together and exchange gifts. Krystal knew what I was planning, and of course she knew what Wendy had for me because Wendy had been talking to her about it for ages, but Krystal only got a wicked grin on her face, pleased at the knowledge that she knew something I didn't, and wouldn't say a word to me any time I asked her what Wendy was planning for me.

Since we both wanted to be back for dinner, to spend time with Abel and everyone else, I had decided a nice picnic lunch on the beach would be the perfect place for what I was planning. Yes, it was winter, but I wanted something romantic so I had researched, and discovered there were some nice beaches just a short ferry ride away from Istanbul, on the Princes Islands, and that's where we were headed. I wanted to dress up nice, but casual at the same time, since we were going to be at the beach, so I actually put on a purple dress-long sleeved because it was winter-with leggings underneath, and snow boots. It wasn't cold enough for the water to be completely frozen, so I figured we'd still be able to take our shoes off and have a romantic walk on the edge of the water.

Most of my preparations had been made already; I had called in advance for a photographer to be hidden to capture the moment. I had the blanket and all her favorites packed into the picnic basket so we could have lunch when we got there, before we exchanged gifts. I even had a bottle of champagne for after, though I wouldn't tell her that yet, because she might get suspicious. I knew she didn't drink except for special occasions, but I also knew she would want to for this occasion, but I didn't want her to know just how special the occasion was yet. I had done enough research and planning to be sure it would go smoothly.

When it was time to go catch the ferry, I was headed to our room to get her (I had been getting ready and preparing the picnic basket with lunch and everything in Krystal's room so Wendy wouldn't see.) but Krystal grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug. "I am so excited for you. You did really well, Booboo," she told me before pulling away, using the nickname we'd always had for each other. I shrugged, but blushed, because I was happy for the compliment. "Seriously, from all the conversations I've had with Wendy about what she's getting you, I've gotten to know her enough to know she's going to love what you're planning. Go enjoy it," she added before we heard the door down the hall and both looked to see my girlfriend entering the hallway.

So I wouldn't give anything away, I remained silent, sending Krystal a thankful smile as she grinned that grin she had when she knew something someone else didn't at the both of us before she went back into her room and I turned to face Wendy, holding my free hand out to her since the other was holding the picnic basket. I took her hand and gave it a kiss after she placed it in mine. "You look gorgeous, baby," I said, and she did. She was wearing a blue dress, that showed off her figure amazingly, although she had had the same idea as me, wearing leggings and boots with it, though hers were high heeled. She had her curly hair half pinned up, the rest of the curls left falling down her back, and her make-up was perfect, as always.

Grinning at me, she squeezed my hand as we both started down the hallway. "You look amazing, too," she responded as we left the hostel and hailed a cab to take us to the marina so we could catch the ferry. She wasn't holding any gifts, so I imagined it must have been small enough to be unnoticeable in her coat pocket, which made me curious about what she was giving me, but I decided to be patient and wait and see. I was honestly more excited for her to see what I'd planned. I was starting to get nervous and she seemed to notice. "Are you okay, babe?" she asked.

Nodding, I smiled, pushing away my nerves. "Of course I am. I'm with you," I responded. She teased me for being cheesy, but leaned over to give me a kiss. I wasn't sappy often, but I did mean what I'd said. I was always okay when I was with her. I hoped Krystal was right when she said Wendy was going to love what I had planned, but I decided to not worry about that and focus on the date instead, and the woman next to me. Krystal did seem to have an eye for being right about these things, even if she didn't trust her judgment about her own love life sometimes, she had always been a good person to go to for advice.

A little while later, we had finished lunch and I checked my phone, realizing it was time to set my plan into motion. I began to take off my boots, looking over at my girlfriend whom I'd been with for almost nine months now. "You want to take a walk with me? I love the feel of the sand beneath my feet," I offered in explanation of the fact that I was taking my boots off. She nodded in answer and took hers off as well and when we were both barefoot I stood and offered her my hand to help her up. I laced our fingers together as we began to walk. I put my other hand in my pocket, wrapping my fingers around the velvet box.

For a little bit we talked about nonconsequential things, but I recognized we were nearing the spot where the photographer was hidden and took a deep breath, stopping her when we were standing in roughly the right spot. I looked at her, taking both her hands in mine. "Wendy Call, I love you so much, more than I imagined I could. I know we've only been together less than nine months, but I already know I want to spend every day of the rest of my life with you. For years, every time I'd had a failed relationship, people have told me that one day someone would walk into my life and I'd know why every previous relationship had failed, but I never truly believed that'd be true, until I met you," I paused and she looked like she wanted to say something, but I reached up and pressed a finger to her lips.

Pulling the box out of my pocket, I knelt down on one knee. "You are beautiful, mind, body and soul, and it's hard to find that in a person. I never thought I'd find someone who fit so perfectly with me, whose demons played so well with mine. Ever since the first night we talked, I found myself letting you in in ways I swore I would never do again, and it's easy with you. Easier than I'd ever thought possible. If you think this is too fast, we can have a long engagement. I don't care when, I just know I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life falling asleep with you and waking up with you and everything in between. So what do you say, will you marry me?" I finally let go of her hand and opened the box, revealing the ring, which had a silver band with a diamond that wasn't too big, because I knew she liked simple things, and didn't want a huge flashy ring.

A smile had formed on her face after I had shushed her and she started laughing when I finished. I bit my lip as I waited in silence for her to speak, unsure of what was funny. "Yes, Skyeann Leigh Mueller, I will marry you. And the reason I'm laughing is this," she pulled a velvet box out of her pocket, opening it to reveal a similar engagement ring to the one I was presenting to her. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too. And I would love to marry you. Which is why I was going to ask you," she took my hand and helped me up, pulling me into a kiss.

After the kiss, I had to laugh as I realized why Krystal had been so silent about what Wendy was doing, and so sure that Wendy would say yes. She had known that both of us were planning on proposing to each other today. "Krystal knew that this was going to happen," I told her, shaking my head slightly as I laughed and she laughed with me, and then the reality of what had just happened hit me. "We're engaged," I grinned at her before pulling her into another kiss. I broke it only so I could take her ring out of the box and slip it on the ring finger of her left hand. She reciprocated with the ring she'd gotten for me, and then I took her left hand in mine, looking at our engagement rings and I had to kiss her again. "I love you," I said when I had to pull away to breathe.

Leaning her forehead against mine, she looked into my eyes. "I love you, too, fiancée," she responded giddily. The photographer came over then, and I shook his hand before he left. I had already paid him for being here. He was going to email the pictures he had taken, and I was going to print off whichever ones we decided when he did. She seemed surprised by the idea. "I'm glad you thought of that. I wish I had," she said, referring to hiring a photographer. "Although, I'm sure Krystal didn't suggest it for me because she knew you had already done it and why should we each have paid for a photographer," she laughed again at the fact that we'd both had the same idea.

Walking back to the blanket, I pulled the champagne and glasses out of the picnic basket. She accepted the glass I poured for her and we sat back on the blanket, sipping champagne and watching the waves as we talked. We started to discuss the wedding, and didn't decide much for certain, but we did decide that we were probably going to aim for the wedding being not this coming spring but spring of next year. We packed up a little while later, so we could get back to everyone else and share the news. We wanted to let Abel know first, even though Krystal already knew, of course, and I was half nervous and half really excited to be gaining a step-son. "He already loves you. You're going to be an amazing step-mother," she told me, correctly guessing my worry.

This relaxed me more than I think she even intended. Not only had she guessed what I was worried about, she knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. I knew then (even though I'd known for a while) that I was making the right choice in choosing to propose. She knew me so well, and I knew her just as well, and even more than that, I wanted to spend the rest of our lives learning even more. I could see our future together, living together, time spent with Abel, eventually kids of our own (we'd adopt, or maybe choose a sperm donor and one of us could carry the baby), growing old together and retiring together. I didn't get a chance to respond before our we got to the hostel, but I sent her a smile and squeezed her hand as we got out of the cab, before heading inside to spend the rest of Christmas with our family.

 **A/N:** _I hope you guys liked this chapter. Sorry it's a couple days late. I think I'm going to switch my update days to Saturdays, because those are my one day off during the week (as long as I don't get called in) so the probability of me remembering to update at a time when I'm able to update (instead of when I'm at work and can't update) greatly increases. So as long as the chapter is written, I will update every Saturday (unless I forget and you guys get it a day or so late). If my chapter for the week isn't written, I'll probably just skip that week and update the next Saturday. Anyway, tell me what you think! Next chapter is Brie's POV. I thought I'd throw in a little ex drama for her._

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	12. New Years Eve

(Brie's POV)

We ended up being in Barcelona on New Year's Eve, and as I was getting ready with Krystal and Skye, I tried to ignore the nagging feeling I was having about texting Shawn and not telling anyone about it. He had texted me first, a few days ago. It had been out of the blue, and I had honestly never expected to speak to him again, but I had responded. We didn't talk about the past, mostly caught up on how things were going for the both of us right now. I asked about his family and his job (his family is doing good and he's still playing poker to make money, apparently). I told him I had moved to California with Skye and Krystal, but that I was in Europe right now, because we were spending three months abroad, travelling. I don't know why I didn't tell him about Chibs, and that's probably why I hadn't told Krystal and Skye about it yet.

Honestly, I knew what they were going to say, what they were going to ask, and I just wasn't sure I was ready to answer the questions yet. I wasn't sure I would admit it to myself. I wasn't even sure I wanted to know the answer. I was just going to ignore it for the time being and try to have fun with my best friends and our extended family. I really was surprised to find myself thinking of the club that way, but I really was. Krystal was right, they had accepted us in; Krystal, because she was with Juan and Skye and I initially because we were Krystal's friends, but now I was an Old Lady too. It still felt weird to think that. Krystal told me that being an Old Lady was a big deal in this club, and it was special to be accepted as one. I had heard her stories about Gemma, so I knew that to be true.

My phone buzzed, and I noticed it was a text from Shawn: "Good morning." He had just woken up, apparently, even though it was almost 3 in the afternoon in New York. There was a six hour time difference. I responded that it's night here, and not even morning where he is either, but that I was currently getting ready for the night. Krystal, Skye and I were actually staying in, so we were getting ready for bed, but still. Krystal had volunteered to babysit for the night, and said she needed to talk to Skye and I about something. Chibs, Juan and Wendy were going out with everyone else, but they had all said they'd be back by midnight for our New Year's kisses. "I feel bad about you guys staying in with me, but I really need to discuss something with the two of you, and I couldn't until today, and I know you'll kill me if I wait any longer," Krystal said again as she came into the bathroom.

Dropping my phone back onto the counter before she could see the name of the contact I was texting, I met her gaze in the mirror. "That's fine. Let me finish removing my make-up and then we can go talk, since the kids have already fallen asleep," I suggested. Abel and Thomas had both been so excited when everyone else had gone, because we'd said we would let them stay up till midnight, if they could last, but they'd both passed out. It had been another long day of walking around and exploring, so none of us were surprised. We'd made sure they'd put their pjs on because we'd known they would.

With a raised eyebrow, probably because of the way I had been so quick to drop my phone when she'd entered, she nodded and went to join Skye in Jax and Tara's room, because that was where all three kids always slept and we were watching them in there until Jax and Tara got back with the others later. I was surprised she didn't say anything. Usually she would jump right on any odd behavior and force me to tell her the truth, but perhaps what she was sharing with us was bigger than I thought. I washed my face and then went to join them as my curiosity grew.

Both of them were sitting on the floor instead of on the bed that Jax and Tara had probably fucked in the night before (and probably this morning, too, honestly) and I had to admit, the floor did seem like a better prospect, so I joined them, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl sitting on the floor. We were planning on watching a movie later, so we'd prepared with popcorn and candy, and a bottle of wine, but I noticed that there were only two glasses poured. I cocked an eyebrow at Krystal, suddenly connecting the dots. "I'm assuming what you have to tell us has to do with the fact that you're not drinking. So spill. How long have you known you were pregnant," I demanded.

With eyes widening, Skye looked down, as if noticing there were only two glasses of wine for the first time. I noticed her phone in her hand and realized she must have been texting Wendy. She looked at Krystal expectantly, waiting for an answer as I did. "Okay, well, it's like this," she started, taking a deep breath before explaining about how she'd missed a pill and realized a few weeks ago. "I started waking up nauseous not long after that, and I decided to take a test before Christmas. I would have told you guys sooner, but I wanted to see an actual doctor, and I didn't get an appointment until this morning at a clinic here," she trailed off and I knew that was not all she wanted to say.

Biting on her lip, just like she always does when she's nervous, she was also avoiding our gazes, so we both waited until she just said whatever it was. "Venus was the first to know, but that's only because she guessed that day we were at the winery. I couldn't lie, but I didn't want to tell anyone else at that point, because I didn't know for sure, which is why I was barely drinking anything. She noticed that and confronted me in the bathroom. So I had her go with me to get the test from some drugstore a couple days before Christmas and she waited with me as I took it and it came out positive. I told Juan on Christmas. So technically you guys are the third and fourth to know, but don't kill me," she confessed.

Laughing at her worry, I knew both Skye and I would get over not being the first to know. I grinned as I congratulated her and we both gave her a hug. "You'll just have to make us Godmothers to make up for the fact that we weren't the first ones besides Juan to know," Skye said decisively as she pulled back to give Krystal a stern look. I voiced my agreement, but was distracted by my phone buzzing, so I returned to my phone and noticed the text from Shawn. "Why are you talking to Shawn? And how long has this been happening? Brieanne Elizabeth Dambra!" Skye grabbed my phone before I even realized she was reading over my shoulder.

Grabbing it back as both Krystal and Skye huddled over it, I tossed it aside and looked at them guiltily. "I don't know. He texted me a couple days ago. We haven't really discussed our history or anything, but I haven't told him about Chibs yet. That's probably why I haven't told you guys I've been texting him," I admitted. I didn't have to ask them what I should do. I knew I was going to get advice from them whether I wanted it or not. I really did want to hear what they were going to say though, so I decided to hand back my phone and let them read through the conversation so I could get their opinion.

After a few minutes of them silently reading, Krystal looked up at me. "I think he still loves you. But how do you feel about him? If he does, would you take him back? What about Chibs?" she asked bluntly, and I sighed. I knew they were going to ask the hard questions. I looked at Skye, who said she also thought Shawn still loves me. He had been a bit flirty, I guess. I looked through the texts and they reread them over my shoulder as I scrolled through the conversation again. "You weren't flirting back. And I know you love Chibs. So why didn't you tell Shawn about him?" she added.

Running a hand through my hair, I tried to find the answer. I sighed again, but they both waited. "I don't know," I finally answered, though I wasn't sure which question I was answering, maybe all of it. "I love Chibs. I know that. I want to be with him. I don't want to be with Shawn anymore," I said the words slowly, realizing that last sentence was true. I really didn't. That didn't explain why I hadn't told Shawn about Chibs, though. "I wouldn't take him back, even if he does want me back. He's my past," I said firmly, knowing it was true. I could tell something was going on in Krystal's mind. "What are you thinking?" I asked her.

Glancing at Skye, the pair of them shared a look before she looked at me again. "I think it's your BPD acting up. That self-destructive side all three of us have. You're scared of how real things are with Chibs, you like the attention Shawn is giving you right now, and you think if Chibs finds out and breaks up with you over it, you won't have to worry about losing him later when you're more invested. But you need to stop. Text Shawn, tell him you're in love and with someone else, but if he wants, you can talk as friends, nothing more, and be sure to tell Chibs that about Shawn later. You have to be honest, Brie, with yourself, and with both Chibs and Shawn," she handed me my phone and I looked at Skye, who nodded, agreeing with Krystal.

Realizing she was right, I sighed, typing out the text to Shawn: "Sorry I haven't mentioned this before, and I'm really sorry if I make this awkward, but I wanted to be honest. I have a boyfriend. I've been dating him for a few months now. I'm in love with him. It's pretty serious. I don't know what your intentions were when you started texting me again, but if you want anything more than friendship, you're not going to find it here." I showed it to them and they both nodded before I hit send. "You know, just a few years ago, I remember we had a conversation, when I was still with Shawn, but you and Matthew had been broken up for years, where I said that if Shawn and I ever ended for any reason, I probably would never fall in love again and I'd be single forever, and you told me that you felt that way about Matthew. You didn't think you were ever going to love someone new the way you'd loved him, and you were probably going to be single for the rest of your life," I said contemplatively.

For a while the three of us were silent as we considered this. Krystal ate a handful of popcorn, her free hand rubbing her still flat stomach as she stared at nothing in particular, lost in thought. Skye and I both took drinks of our wine, and I noticed that Skye was looking down at her new engagement ring before she looked back up at the two of us, and she was the one to break the silence. "I know you both felt that way at the time, but I know the two of you, and you both have been able to love again. Relationships fail so the right people can come into our lives. I believe that's happened for all three of us. It may have taken us all a lot of years, and I don't know if you and Chibs are forever, Brie. Honestly, none of us know what the future has in store for us, but right now I'm so happy for all three of us, because I think we're right where we should be, and with the people we should be with, and no matter what happens, I'm proud of the place we're all in now," she said, raising her glass in a toast

Thinking of her words, I slowly nodded, raising my glass too. She was right. Things happen the way they're meant to. I had thought at the time I'd said that to Krystal about Shawn that it would always be true, but things change. Shawn and I had ended and I had actually moved on. The past molded the three of us to who we are now, and I realized she was right. As hard as everything had been at the time, we'd needed things to happen to become who we are now. We'd still have hard times in the future, but that's life. Good and bad. And right now it was good, so we clinked glasses-Krystal had a glass of Dr. Pepper-and then enjoyed the last few hours of the year with our best friends. And in those final moment of the year, as promised, our significant others showed up, just in time to start the new year with us.

 **A/N:** _I didn't even realize Saturday had passed without me posting until I was on my way to work yesterday. Here's the chapter! I hope you like it! Please, please, PLEASE let me know what you think! I would really appreciate some reviews. Thank you to everyone who reads, and to the one person who does review. I appreciate it so much._

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	13. Madrid

A few days into the New Year, we were in Madrid and we still hadn't made the general announcement yet that I was pregnant. I knew Juan wanted to, but morning sickness had been all day sickness for me the past few days, so I hadn't done much of anything but stay in our hostel. I was feeling better today though, and up for exploring, so I told him we could tell everyone while we were all eating breakfast together at one of the open-air cafes in the Plaza Mayor. We were going to spend some time there before taking the kids to the Retiro Park for the afternoon. It happened to be a Saturday and there was a puppet theater at the park that puts on shows every Saturday and Sunday, so we all thought that could be interesting.

The reason I was feeling better today, was because I had smoked a bowl. We had brought weed with us, since we hadn't gotten on a commercial flight and our bags hadn't been checked, but I had been refraining from it since I realized I was pregnant, until this morning. I was getting tired of the constant morning sickness, and smoking could usually make me feel better, so I thought I'd give it a try, and it had worked. I decided that there were worse things I could be doing, and not eating because I was puking all the time wasn't really healthy for the baby, so if I needed to smoke to be able to eat and go about life normally, I was going to do that. I had also figured that as long as I stayed away from joints and blunts I'd be fine, because I'd heard that smoking out of vaporizers, bongs or pipes is healthier than smoking papers.

Of course, Juan had been really attentive since I'd told him I was pregnant. Even when I'd sent him away New Year's Eve so I could tell Brie and Skye on my own, he had gone only very reluctantly, and that had been pretty much the only time we'd spent apart since Christmas. He stayed in the bathroom with me while I puked, getting me a cold washcloth every time to rub on the back of my neck while I was puking and then on my face once I was done puking. He kissed my stomach every night and said goodnight to the baby before we went to sleep. He often rested his hand on my stomach protectively as we cuddled every night, and he was constantly asking if I needed anything.

Honestly, he was hovering a bit much, but I hadn't minded while I was sick as much. Now that I had found a way to feel better, I was going to have to talk to him about it. I waited until after we had showered (complete with shower sex because I'd been feeling so awful the past few days that we hadn't had any sex, and it had been far too long) and were getting dressed. He was asking if he could do anything for me. "Babe. Honey. Love of my life," I tried to be sweet because I knew he wasn't going to like what I was going to say. "I really, really appreciate how sweet you've been. You know that. But I am NOT an invalid. I'm still the same stubborn independent woman. I just happen to be carrying your child. I love you, but no need to hover," I grabbed the front of his tee-shirt and pulled him into a kiss to soften my words. I did appreciate it, but like I said, I'm not an invalid.

After he pulled back, resting his forehead against mine, he nodded. "Alright, you're right. I will stop hovering, but at the same time, you ARE carrying my child, so you're not going to be doing any heavy lifting or anything else a pregnant woman shouldn't do. And if you choose to ask for something, you know I'll do it. I know you're stubborn, but you know I want to take care of you. Work with me here," he asked, and I let out a breath but nodded. "Thank you. I love you, wife. So goddamned much," he bent down and spoke to my stomach. "And I love you, too, baby girl," he said in a lower voice, kissing my still flat stomach, which was bare because I hadn't decided what I was wearing yet, so I was standing around in a green bra and matching boyshorts.

Cocking an eyebrow, I looked at him. "Baby girl?" I asked as he straightened and met my gaze. I thought about it for a moment, and then grinned. "We don't know that yet, but maybe it's true," I said contemplatively. I rubbed my stomach and looked down at it. "What do you think, baby Ortiz, are you a girl or a boy?" I paused again. "For some reason, I think it's gonna be a boy. We have probably have about 3 months before we'll be able to tell. Care to wager on it, husband of mine?" I asked with a smirk.

Nodding slowly, he lifted a finger to tap his chin as he thought about what we were going to bet. I thought about it too for a moment. "If we have a girl, I get to name her. If we have a boy, you can name him," he offered. I was surprised. I kind of expected a sexual bet, but then I realized that neither of us needed a bet to influence our sex life. This seemed like a fair wager. I nodded, then pulled my husband into a kiss to seal the deal. He pulled me closer, deepening the kiss. I wasn't the only one who'd missed having sex these few days, apparently. "Right now, we're going to take advantage of the fact that you're feeling better, and not completely dressed yet," he said, picking me up and tossing me on the bed before pulling his tee-shirt off and stripping off his pants and boxers and joining me.

Thirty minutes later, we were just finishing up when I heard someone pounding on the door, letting us know that we had ten minutes before everyone was leaving without us. I reluctantly got out of bed, retrieving my bra and panties and slipping into both of them before going to my suitcase, as Juan retrieved his clothes from the floor and put them on. I just grabbed a pair of green skinny jeans, a black tee-shirt and put them on, followed by a pair of socks and my boots. I didn't bother with makeup, and winced at my hair before deciding to pull it back into little pig tails, because it was a mess from drying while we were fucking. I grabbed my leather jacket and met my husband at the door to the room, taking his hand and following him out to find everyone else.

A little while later, we were all seated around three tables we'd put together at a café, and the waitress had just taken our orders and left. I took Juan's hand, signaling him to get everyone's attention so we could make our announcement. He cleared his throat, telling everyone we had an announcement to make, and then looked at me. I bit on my lip and couldn't help but say it with him. "We're pregnant," we both said, and then I added, "Two months. Due August 26th, according to the doctor I saw when we were in Barcelona." I shared a look with Venus, since this was news to her. I hadn't told her about that yet.

Everyone congratulated us, and Jax teased us about how quick we'd been to tell Gemma that we weren't planning on getting pregnant any time soon, but then ended up being married for less than a month before we'd gotten pregnant. I opened my mouth to retort, but he was right, so there wasn't much to say. "The best things in life are unplanned. Honestly, my life is a series of plans that didn't work out. Brie and Skye can attest to the fact that things go better for me when I don't try to focus on planning things out," I looked at my two best friends, who just nodded their affirmation, then rolled my eyes at their quick agreement. "You could have at least pretended to not agree with that," I laughed.

The waiter brought our drinks, and the conversation moved on. The guys and Wendy went for a smoke and I had to admit, I was wishing I could join them, although Brie said she was proud of me for deciding to give up cigarettes, and Skye, Tara, Venus and Kerrianne all agreed. "You guys say that now. You won't be saying that when you have to deal with bitchy, irritated, in-need-of-a-cigarette me for the next few months. I feel so bad for Juan," I laughed, only half joking. I'd tried to quit a few times over the years. I started when I was 18, and life with my mom was stressing me out so much, and it had started as an occasional habit, but I had morphed into a smoker before I'd even realized it. Even when I did quit for a while, I spent the weeks or even months I wasn't smoking as increasingly irritable anytime I was stressed, and often only lasted maybe two months, or maybe three, before I was smoking again.

As I was considering all this, I remembered what Juan had told me earlier, and an idea came into my mine. "Dude. So. Juan told me he would quit, too, for me, but I told him there was no reason for us both to be miserable and irritable," I told them, then met Brie's and Skye's gaze. "However, since I don't live with you two, and you two aren't really smokers anyway, not completely, I'm going to say you two should quit with me. You only smoke occasionally, and it's often when we're smoking weed and/or drinking together, which I unfortunately won't be doing, but I won't make you guys quit that, so the three of us can support each other when we're craving a cigarette," I said decisively.

To my surprise, they both shared a look and sigh, and then slowly nodded. It was definitely a testament to how much they loved me and I grinned and thanked them. I was gonna get mushy, but quickly shrugged off the impulse. The pregnancy was already affecting my hormones, and I didn't want to get too deep in my feelings, so I settled for thanking them, and then the guys and Wendy were back and the conversation moved on. I really hoped I didn't turn into those women who cry at everything while pregnant. I hate crying more than I hate getting mushy. I just think the people I love know how I feel about them, so there's no need to tell them all the time. I'm pretty bad at showing it sometimes, but I do show it in my own way. I just prefer to do it without getting mushy and/or crying.

As the conversation continued, I held Juan's hand on top of the table, resisting the urge to put my hand on his thigh, not wanting to start something we wouldn't be able to finish. The hormones were definitely affecting my sex drive, too, although, that was also affected by the fact that we'd gone without for days while I'd been sick. I could only imagine how much worse all these hormones were going to get over the next eight months. Life was definitely going to be interesting, that was for sure.

 **A/N:** _I'm actually remembering to update on the right day! Yayy! Let me know what y'all think! I hope y'all enjoy it. Please review! Thank you to everyone who reads and reviews! If you have any ideas or scenes you'd like to see me write, I'm open to suggestions, and I would be sure to give credit if I used a suggestion anyone gave me._

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	14. Lisbon

The next city we visited was Lisbon, at my insistence, since I was half-Portuguese, after all. I may not claim my father, and I didn't even get my very Portuguese last name from him (Long story, if not short, as short as it can get: It came from his grandparents, his mothers parents, who practically raised him as he bounced between their house and my grandma and grandpa's, who wasn't his father, but the man that her seven children grew up calling dad, even if only three[I think] of them came from him, and he was going to change his own last name to Souza eventually, and have my mother take the name Souza when they married, only he was in prison for too long, so the name changing never happened, and the rest is a whole other story. I was always extremely grateful to get the Souza name instead of his, which came from his biological father, and happened to be Pitts, though.) but I get half my DNA from him, and that half of me is Portuguese, so I was interested in visiting Lisbon.

Today we were going to be taking the Tram 28, to see some sights, mainly I was interested in people watching and seeing the culture. And then we were going to head to the Oceanarium, which happens to be the biggest indoor aquarium, not only in Portugal, but in Europe as well. I loved viewing the animals at the last zoo, and everyone had been intrigued by the fact that it was the largest in Europe, so we'd all agreed that we should spend a good part of the day visiting it. We just had to complete was had become our morning routine in the last week, since we'd discovered that smoking helps the nausea.

Not to say we're becoming a boring married couple set in their routine already, because there are always variations, of course, but our days have been going like this: I wake up and immediately grab the pipe on the nightstand, taking a hit, and then nudging Juan awake (Because what's the fun in smoking alone?) so we can share the bowl. Then we make some great use of his morning wood, in any way that strikes our fancy that morning. After the sex is the shower, so we can get ready to meet everyone for breakfast. We fulfill our group plans for the day, keeping me just stoned enough so nausea doesn't interfere with our shenanigans (because with our group, we're always finding random creative ways to have fun that sometimes get us into some varying degree of trouble, but never in too much trouble of course, making shenanigans the perfect word to explain what we do every day as a group). Then we kind of reverse the morning part of the routine, without the shower: Sex, smoke and back to sleep; Juan always packs a fresh bowl to put on the nightstand for us to smoke in the morning.

As it always does, since I was born practically, and probably till I die, my inner alarm clock woke me early, and I reached for the bowl, taking a hit before I rolled over and nudged my husband awake, passing him the bowl as I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling and trying to fully wake up. I need silence when I first wake, a trait Juan and I seem to share, unless we're being woken up with sex. I may wake up early naturally, but I do not wake up cheerfully. My eyes open and I slowly can do things, but I do them silently until my brain catches up with my body and I am awake enough to talk. So we finished the bowl in shared silence, before he set it aside and we turned to face each other and begin the less silent part of our wake-up routine.

This morning, I was feeling more in the mood for soft and sensual (some would call it love-making, but isn't it all love-making when you're in love? That's my opinion, anyway) instead of rough and kinky. He picked up on my mood as he always does, and we started with soft kisses, progressing to slow caresses of fingers over bodies and tongue against tongue. His hand explored its way down my body until his thumb found my clit and he began to rub it until I was sufficiently wet. We rolled so I was on my back and he was between my legs, which were wrapped around his waist. He slid into me slowly and we kept with our slow pace for as long as we could, meeting each other thrust for thrust, kiss for kiss until we both came together.

Slowly, as our breathing evened out, he pulled out of me and rolled back onto the bed. I rolled with him, laying practically on top of him, so I could listen as his heartbeat returned to normal. I lazily traced his chest tattoos with my fingertips, and he responded by lazily rubbing my back. "Good morning," I finally said the first coherent sentence of the day. "I love you so damn much, you know that?" I asked rhetorically. I knew he knew, just like he knew I knew he was tracing the letters " U" on my back as I said it. Still, he asked 'Really?' and I opened my mouth to say 'You bet your ass I do,' when I realized what he was doing, and I grinned, because until today, I had forgotten. "Really, really," I said back instead.

Shrek the Third was the movie we saw on our second date not just because it was in theaters, but also because Juan loved all the Shrek movies, so we ended up watching them over and over during our three years together, alternating them with some other favorites of his and mine and new movies too, of course. I was also really insecure back then, so I questioned myself a lot. He was, surprisingly, the first one to say I love you back then, and I was so surprised, I said, "Really?" and he didn't even skip a beat before saying "Really, really." I told him I loved him too, of course, after that, but it just sort of became a thing of ours, one we hadn't really acknowledged or picked back up since his memory came back. I kinda liked the idea of bringing it back though.

Kissing the top of my head, he sat up, effectively pulling me into a sitting position, too. "I love you back," he added and we slipped on our robes before heading to the shower. We returned to the room after and he got dressed as he usually did, while I stood looking at my mess of a suitcase trying to figure out what to wear. I dug around for a bit, finally coming up with a pair of green skinny jeans and a black tee-shirt. I brushed out my curls and pulled on a headband to push them out of my face, and then was going to put on some make-up, but Juan stopped me by wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. "You're gorgeous with or without that," he murmured, kissing my neck and letting me go.

Contemplating for a moment, I eventually just set the make-up down. There was no special need for it. We weren't going out anywhere important, and the only one I cared to impress anymore was my husband, so if he liked me either way, what was the point in putting on make-up on a daily basis when I didn't like putting it on unless I was going out and felt like doing it. Still, I tossed a 'really?' at him, partially teasing and partially seriously wondering if he meant that. "Really, really," he teased back, then seemed to sense the serious part of me that had asked. "Krystal Leann, you know I've always thought you look better without it. Yes, you look beautiful with it, but I think you always look gorgeous, even when you don't see it yourself. If you never wore make-up another day in your life, I wouldn't care one bit," he assured me.

Biting on my lip, I glanced shyly down at my feet, mumbling a thanks. A part of me knew he thought that, because he'd told me before, of course, but it was always nice to hear it again. I could feel my cheeks heat up and knew I was probably blushing. I'm horrible at accepting compliments on my looks. He reached out and grabbed my hands, pulling me close and wrapping his arms around my waist as he stepped closer to me. He kissed the tip of my nose, before reaching up and raising my chin so I could look up into his eyes. "You may have a lot more confidence than you did back when you were a meek 15-year-old, but you still don't see yourself clearly, my love," he told me.

Shrugging, I bit on my lip again, taking a deep breath as I contemplated. "I'm happy with who I am, and how I look, now, I guess. That would be the confidence I didn't have before. I just don't see "gorgeous" or "beautiful"," I lifted my fingers and air quoted around the words, "the way you and other people sometimes suggest. I mean, I'm just me. It probably stems from years and years of my mother constantly doing nothing but putting me down and telling me how I can better myself instead of telling me what I was doing right, but I can't see myself as anything but average. I'm glad you do, though. And as long as you think I am, and I'm happy with how I look, I guess that's all that really matters," I finished.

Before he could form a response, my stomach rumbled loudly, a result of being stoned and pregnant. The baby wanted breakfast. "Yes, yes, baby Ortiz, we'll go eat soon," Juan rubbed my stomach and laughed. I grinned at his response. It had been such a relief, still was such a relief, at the way he'd responded to the news. The married life was turning out better than I'd ever imagined. "Well, whether you ever believe me, or anyone else, all that I care about is that you're happy with yourself. Now let's go feed our baby girl," he took my hand, bringing it to his lips and giving it a kiss before leading us out of our room.

Hours later, at the Oceanarium, I had taken Thomas to get some ice cream and see the Alaskan sea otters for a second time, while everyone else was seeing the catshark exhibit. I had noticed that he had seemed really hesitant at the shark exhibit at the last zoo we'd gone to. He didn't like them. I was pretty sure he was scared of them, but I could tell he didn't want to admit it because he didn't want his older brother to tease him. So I had asked him to come with me to see the sea otters again, making excuses to everyone else and saying we'd meet up with them in a little bit. "Hey Krys," he broke the silence as he licked the vanilla cone I'd bought him after making him promise not to tell his mom I'd given him sugar before dinner, the secrecy for his sake as much as mine. I used to dislike the nickname (although not as much as I'd hated the nickname Kryssy, which my family had always called me) but I'd slowly gotten used to it over the years, and now I even kinda liked that Juan was the only one who called me Krystal.

Slowing to look over at him I made a noise to indicate that I'd heard him as I licked my own double chocolate brownie cone (which is my favorite flavor for most of the year, except for the holidays when pumpkin pie, egg nog and peppermint flavored ice creams are all out and my preferred choices). "You've gotta baby in your tummy, right? Like when Mommy had Kallie in her tummy?" he asked. This was the first time we'd gotten some time alone since Juan and I had made the announcement, so I nodded, wondering where he was going with this. "You'll still have time to hang out with me and Abel and Kallie, right?" he asked, and I confirmed. "Okay, good, cuz I like hanging out with you and Juice. You're gonna make a good mommy," he looked up and gave me a sweet smile.

Even though he was messy and sticky with ice cream all over his face, I leaned down and pulled him into a hug, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "That means a lot to me. I like hanging out with you, too," I replied. "You're a pretty cool kid, you know that. If my kid is half as cool as you, I'll be a pretty lucky mom," I added, ruffling his hair before we finished our cones and cleaned up before heading up to meet everyone. I had felt good when Venus and Juan told me I was going to make a good mom, but having a kid tell me I was going to make a good mother left me feeling better about it than I would have expected.

 **A/N:** _Sorry I didn't get to update last Saturday; the week before was really hectic, so I didn't have a chapter written. I do have the rest of this part pretty much planned out in my head, but getting it from my head to paper (or laptop, rather) is harder than I would thing. Part 4 is gonna be great though, I already know that. I have some really awesome drama planned. Some of it is heartbreaking, but, that can't always been helped. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. Oops. I hope you like this chapter. Thank you to everyone who reads and reviews! Next chapter should be up next Saturday as planned. =]_

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._ _  
_


	15. Athens

After Lisbon, we headed to Athens. I was excited because I'd always been interested in Greek mythology, so I thought it would be kind of cool to see all the temples and the Parthenon. We were finally getting to that today, after we found a place for breakfast. I'd excelled in the unit we'd done on Greek mythology we'd done in high school, so I was likely going to be taking lead today, talking about the Gods as we visited their temples. Juan and I had even stayed in last night and watched the second half of season 5 of Once Upon a Time, because it had been about the Underworld and Hades.

Another reason I hadn't wanted to go out yesterday because I had been feeling really sick, and even smoking hadn't particularly helped. Juan, of course, had been really attentive to my needs, and he'd stayed in with me while everyone else had gone out, and he'd been the one to suggest we watch my favorite show. I had felt bad that he hadn't been able to go out with everyone else, but he had insisted to me that he was fine with it, and I knew he meant it. He wanted to take care of me, and I suspected that my stubborn side would be particularly resistant, but I'd do my best to let him.

Once I'd handed Juan the pipe after taking a hit, I grabbed my phone from the night stand, noticing the blinking light that let me know I had a notification. I typed in my password, which I had set up because the kids often liked to pick up random phones and play on them. Juan knew my password; I wasn't trying to hide anything from him. I actually asked him to answer calls or texts for me often when he was closer to my phone than I was, or I was busy doing something else, so it was more convenient for him to answer. I also had his password, and answered his calls or texts when it was more convenient as well. Neither of us had any secrets.

When I saw that the text was from Crystal, I went to delete it automatically, as I always did, but he placed his hand on top of mine before I could press the button. I looked over with one eyebrow raised, curious to know what he was doing, and I saw him looking at my phone, then back at me, earnestly. "Don't you think you should at least read it?" he asked, and I scoffed, moving my hand from beneath his so I could once again attempt to delete the message. "You know you want to. If you really didn't wanna know what she had to say, you would have blocked her number ages ago, or at least asked me to. I figure you've been waiting for the anger to wear off so you can accept her apology and move on," he added.

This time I laughed humorlessly, and used my other hand to pick his up and move it aside. I deleted the text and then looked back at him, noticing his disapproving look. "Honestly, no, that's not what I'm doing. I don't care about blocking her. Truthfully, it's nice to know that she keeps apologizing, but this time, I'm not going to accept it, and we're not going to move on. I've given her enough chances. I'm done with her," I said firmly, setting my phone back on the dresser and crossing my arms across my chest. "Why do you keep insisting I should forgive her?" I asked, because I expected him to be on my side about this, not hers.

Shrugging, he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, seeming to realize that the wrong response could send my emotions, which could be somewhat volatile at normal times, and had the potential to be a lot worse now that I was pregnant, over the edge. "I just don't get why you're acting like you won't. She's been your best friend for nearly 20 years now-18, if I remember correctly. You guys have had fights before, but you always get past them, because she's your best friend. You wouldn't have been friends for this long if she wasn't. You always said she would be for the rest of your life," he pointed out.

Honestly, he had a point, but there had been so many times she'd wronged me, and I just didn't want to think about all that right now, because it would get me worked up. I was already getting upset because he wouldn't believe that I meant it when I said I wasn't going to forgive her. "I used to believe that. That was before. A lot happened in the years before I moved to Charming. She's been a shitty best friend, and I don't want to put up with it anymore. I deserve better. She intentionally gave my family information about our wedding, even though she promised she wouldn't, just because of some stupid jealousy she felt at not being my maid of honor," I broke off, looking away, biting my lip.

Because I hadn't filled him in, he pushed the issue. I probably could have stopped this whole conversation if I had explained my whole reasoning, but I wasn't willing to do that yet. I wanted him to just accept what I was saying and not force me to explain. "How do you know that? Maybe she was looking out for your best interests. Maybe she thought you'd regret later on not having any of your family at your wedding. Maybe she didn't realize how they'd act if they were there," he suggested, trying to be the voice of reason.

Scoffing again, I shook my head slowly, getting more frustrated. I ran my hand through my hair. "Why do you keep defending her? Why can't you just trust me when I say that she's not the best person to be in my life anymore and leave it at that?" I demanded, and he said something about the Krystal he'd known was more forgiving than this, especially of her best friend. "The Krystal you knew has been through a lot of shit, and I'm not the same person. So maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do," I stood abruptly, unwilling to say anything else. Tears of frustration welled in my eyes, and I didn't want to say something I was going to regret.

Walking over to my suitcase, I grabbed whatever was on top and hurriedly dressed. I heard the footsteps as he approached, asking what I was doing, but I shrugged off his questions. "I need to go before my hormones take over the conversation and I say something I'll regret," I admitted once I'd dressed, and without another word, I left the room, continuing down the hall, despite the fact that I heard him calling my name, until I'd left the hostel. I couldn't explain why my anger flared so much, but I punched the wall a couple of times, trying to keep the tears at bay. My knuckles were raw and bloody, but I no longer felt the urge to scream or yell. I wasn't ready to go back and face him yet, though, so I hurried down the sidewalk, certain that he'd be dressed soon and following after me.

While I walked, I tried to piece together why I had reacted the way I did. I knew I was hormonal, and my anger sometimes appeared at inopportune moments, but I didn't understand what exactly it was he had said that had triggered me and why. I was barely a block away before I heard steps behind me. I kept walking, slowing down only slightly. I knew it wasn't Juan, because I could make out two distinct sets of footsteps, so I figured I would be able to talk to anyone else. Brie and Skye fell into step on either side of me. "What just happened? Juan only told us that you were upset, and that he knew you would need time away from him at the moment, so we should come talk to you," Skye said as they each looped an arm through one of mine.

Smirking wryly, I thought maybe he does know me, despite the ways I've changed. It suddenly hit me why I'd gotten so upset, but instead of spelling out my reasoning, I told them what had happened, wondering if they'd come to the same conclusion I did. They sometimes knew how I was feeling better than I did, and I always trusted them to be blunt. "So you got mad when he insinuated you're not the same person you were when you were 18," Skye clarified when I had finished telling the story, and I nodded. I had, indeed, realized that much. I didn't want to voice my insecurities at the moment though, so I didn't say anything else.

For a few minutes, there was silence as they both contemplated it, and Brie, ever the blunt one, finally broke the silence. "You've changed, and you've spent years jaded and believing you weren't worthy of love. You think that if he didn't recognize the ways you've changed before he married you, that he'll wish he hadn't married you when he does realize all the ways you've changed," she stated matter-of-factly. She didn't need to ask if that was how I felt, she knew it as well as I did, especially after hearing her say it out loud. I nodded slowly, unable to speak around the lump in my throat.

In my peripheral vision, I noticed that the two of them shared a look around me, and they both nodded. Skye led us to a nearby bench and forced me to sit down as Brie pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and holding it out toward me. "He loves you. That's the letter you asked him to write the day of the wedding. You should read it, and you'll realize just how well he does know you. You asked me to hang onto it so you wouldn't read it, but, naturally, Skye and I couldn't resist," she admitted with a shrug, not bothering to be ashamed. I had figured they would when I'd given it to her, so I couldn't get upset. "I also gave him his, so by the time you get back, he'll be ready to make up, too," she added, referring to the letter I'd written him on our wedding day.

Reaching over to place a reassuring hand on my shoulder, Skye gave me a quick hug. "Dude, she's right. You're lucky he loves you so much. You need to be honest with him about all the reasons you won't forgive Crystal, though, so once you read that, you need to go talk to him. I know you, so that's probably not going to be today, but you need to do it soon, so you guys don't keep arguing about this. Now read this, then go make up with your husband. Brie and I will be back at the hostel. I need a shower, and I imagine everyone else is still getting ready for the day, too, so once you and your husband make up, we can get back to our regularly scheduled day," she smirked before she and Brie started walking back to the hostel.

Hesitantly, I unfolded the letter and then began to read. I found myself smiling and laughing as I read, and I had to admit, they were right. Juan knew me well, the good and the bad, and he loved all of it. I had asked him to write it on our wedding day, and I had written him one, basically telling him to write me a letter that I'd be able to keep and read whenever we fought, to remind me of how much he loved me, and I would write one for him. I thought it would be a good way to help us get through arguments, remembering why we loved each other, and why we were together.

After I'd read the letter a second time, I hurried back to the hostel. Juan was sitting on the bed when I pushed open the door to our room, and I saw the letter I'd written him in his hands. He set it aside and stood when I entered, I could see the apology in his eyes as I approached. We both said we were sorry at the same time, and then I threw my arms around him, and he pulled me into his embrace. Skye was right, this would require more conversation, but not now. Now I just wanted some make-up sex with my husband.

 **A/N:** _Ahh, the first fight. Yes, they had to have one eventually. Sorry I forgot to post this yesterday. I hope you like this chapter. Thank you to everyone who reads and especially to those who review. I appreciate it so much! Please review and let me know what you think!_

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	16. Berlin

The following week, we were in Berlin, and we were planning on spending the day at M _useumsinsel_ , also known as Museum Island, which happened to be a clump of five museums on a small island in the River Spree. We'd been to Viktoriapark, and Tiergarten, and gone to see some other sites, but Tara wanted to use today to teach the kids some things, and we all thought the museums would be interesting, so we'd all ended up agreeing to go. I had taken to helping Tara with the lessons, because before I'd decided to become an ultrasound tech, I'd wanted to be a teacher, so it was fun for me. The only reason my dream job had changed was because realistically, I'd live a more comfortable life on the salary of an ultrasound tech than a teacher.

When I awoke, I felt the stiffness in my knuckles, and looked over at my sore hand. The bruises looked a lot better, and seemed to be healing. I flexed it a couple times to get rid of the stiffness, wincing at the pain it caused. It still hurt a bit, but at least I wasn't grimacing every time it even lightly bumped something, as I had been for the first couple days. Juan had given me grief over hurting myself, and he was right, there were healthier ways to channel my anger, but there were also less healthy ways, many of which I'd tried, and this was the best way I could come up with that worked for me. I told him next time I wanted to hit something, I'd try to choose something soft, or at least put on boxing gloves.

Our morning went the way they'd been going lately, but as I was brushing my teeth after our shower, my phone started ringing, I glanced at the display, noticed it said Booboo (my nickname for Skye) and gestured for him to answer, since I couldn't really talk right at the moment. He was just finishing shaving while I brushed my teeth, and he set the razor down and picked up my phone, swiping his finger across the screen to answer. He greeted her, then listened for a moment. "She said it snowed last night, quite a few inches, so they wanted to take the kids sledding, and are trying to get everyone else to agree. Interested?" he informed me and I nodded, telling him I would love to. I'd never had the chance to before, and it seemed fun to me.

After relaying the message to Skye, who had apparently heard my mumbling around the toothbrush and seemed to have asked how he could understand me, he laughed. "I speak fluent Krystal. I've had plenty of opportunity to decipher her words while she has something in her mouth," I rolled my eyes and flipped him off. I would have stuck my tongue out him too, but the toothbrush was preventing it at the moment. "Get your mind out of the gutter. I could have been talking about food, or toothbrushes, as in this case," he said to her, laughing and ignoring my finger. He knew I never meant it seriously. "Okay, we'll meet up with you guys when we're done getting ready," he said after a moment and then ended the call.

Spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing my mouth, I washed off the toothbrush, and then handed it to him. He had rinsed the last of the shaving cream off while I'd been finishing brushing my teeth, and he started brushing his teeth as I started doing my hair. Most people had their own toothbrushes, and didn't share with their significant other, but we hadn't even packed a second one. We swapped spit on a daily basis, so we didn't really see the need for separate toothbrushes. We both finished getting ready at the same time, as we usually did, on the days I don't wear make-up at least, and headed back to our room to put our toiletries away.

Before we left the room, though, he stopped me, taking my phone and putting in the password, he looked at my wallpaper, showing me the screen with a raised eyebrow. I didn't need him to voice the question, I just shrugged, sticking my tongue out at him and grabbing my phone back. "I took it the other day," I told him as I examined the picture I'd taken. He had been standing outside, lighting a cigarette. He was wearing sunglasses, and the sky had looked beautiful behind him. I couldn't help but snap a picture, and I loved it so much I'd made it my wallpaper. I often did this, and most of the time he didn't realize it. He smirked and shook his head, but told me he loved me. "I love you, back," I said as we linked hands and left the room.

When we met up with everyone in the lobby, Kerrianne said that she had asked the receptionist at the hostel, who'd told her that there was a hill nearby that would be perfect for sledding and playing in the snow, and even told us that there was a place we could rent sleds. I was admittedly more excited than I should have been about going sledding and spending the afternoon playing in the snow, but these were things I'd always wanted to experience but had never gotten to. I'd grown up in California, born and raised, and we'd been on a few trips when I was young, but only one during the winter; it was a road trip to visit a cousin of mine in Washington, and that was the only snow experience I had.

Incidentally, that day hadn't been the best for me. My mom and I had gone with my aunt and cousins and we'd had a snowball fight. I was much younger than all of my cousins, and some of the snow was hard packed. I got hit in the face with a snowball and started crying. My cousin insisted I was being a crybaby, but it did indeed leave a horrible red mark on my cheek, as if I'd been slapped, and hard. I was probably about 7 then. That sounds about right. I think my oldest cousin had just had her second child, and I was 7 years old when that happened. I probably did make too big of a fuss about it, I really don't remember all that well. But it had hurt, and I still feel I'd had the right to cry. My cousins and siblings were all so much older than me, though, they were often playing too rough and I ended up hurt.

Shaking myself out of that memory, I rubbed my stomach, making a vow to my child that I'd be a better mother than my own. I loved my mom, I truly did, and yes, I missed her, but my childhood wasn't really normal. My mom was already in her 60s while I was in my 20s. She was 37 when she had me. Her health was declining due to years of drug use, even before I was a teenager, and since my siblings had already grown up and were living lives of their own, I'd had to grow up way before I should have, and take care of my mother for most of my life. I took on way too much responsibility, and I never wanted my own child to have to take care of me the way I had my mother.

Even though I had stayed with her until the end, despite wanting to leave California years ago, I'll admit, part of me resented her for being less of a mother and more of a daughter. I saw the way Gemma was with Jax and even the other club members, and especially her grandkids, and I wished I'd had a mother, maybe not exactly like that, but one who cared, and actually took care of me instead of making me take care of her. Really, both my parents were examples of what not to do when raising a child. I only wanted to do better, be better than they were. I knew Juan was going to be a great father, but despite others' insistences that I'd make a good mother, I still doubted myself.

Feeling Juan's hand rubbing my back, I looked over at him. He was regarding me curiously, and I realized I'd been lost in thought, chewing on my lip. I released it and sent him a sheepish look, asking him to repeat whatever it was he'd said, because I hadn't heard it. "I asked if you're okay, love. You seem to be so lost in thought that the building could fall down around you and you wouldn't notice," he said, taking my hand and lacing our fingers together. He brushed some hair away from my forehead and placed a kiss there, waiting for an answer.

Smiling at the surge of emotion I felt due to these little touches and gestures, I nodded. "I'm fine. I was just thinking. Nothing to be concerned about that," I informed him, stepping closer to him, I released his hand and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down to meet my lips as I stretched up onto my tiptoes. Our kisses were pretty chaste in comparison to other moments, but there were still catcalls from some of the guys. I chose to roll my eyes and ignore it, but pulled away, noticing that everyone else was gathered. "Whatever, let's just go," I said before anyone could tease us about being all over each other, as they usually did. I had a grin on my face though. I may complain, but I didn't truly mind their teasing comments, and they all knew it.

Once we reached the hill, we all had a great time. We all took several trips down the hill, trudging back up with our sleds before going down again. The kids got tired of walking back up the hill after a while, so we started building snowmen. I was the first to throw myself down in the snow and make a snow angel. It was a little cold, laying in the snow, but Juan laughed at my antics and joined me, and I loved my husband for accepting my silliness and going along with it.

When he and the guys stepped away to smoke a cigarette, Wendy included, I helped Thomas finish up his snowman, but I noticed Juan's back to me when I glanced over, and I noticed he was putting out his cigarette, and I couldn't resist. I bent down and scooped up and handful of snow, throwing it and managed to hit my target, despite my poor aim. He turned as he felt the snow hit him in the side of the head, and I tried my best to look innocent, but I couldn't help my giggles. He threw one back at me, but I dodged it, and it hit Chibs, who retaliated, and all of us ended up in a huge snowball fight.

For hours we all laughed and played in the snow, and at the end of the day, we went back to the hostel, for dinner and we settled in front of the fire with hot chocolate after as we thawed out. The kids were tired out by the day, and fell asleep quick, so Jax and Tara took them to bed, and then slowly everyone else dispersed. Juan, Brie, Chibs, Skye, Wendy and I were the last sitting by the fire, and I was the one who stood first, because I'd been yawning for the past twenty minutes. Pregnancy made me tired earlier than I was used to, and I still wanted to take my husband to bed before I fell asleep. I didn't bother making excuses, just sent Juan a look, and he instantly stood and followed me, both of us calling goodnight to the others as we left the room.

 **A/N:** _I thought this chapter was kind of fun to write. And I got a request for some smutty make-up sex, but that will be next chapter. This part is officially written up, so I might be inclined to post an extra update a week or so if I get enough reviews! Thanks to those who read and especially thanks to those who review. I appreciate it so much!_

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	17. Prague

A week later, we were in Prague. We'd spent a few days sightseeing. Tonight the women were going to see an opera at the National Theater, while the guys went out, because they had absolutely no interest in opera. I had never expected Juan to be interested in it, but the look on his face when I first mentioned it, without saying he wouldn't be required to go was definitely worth it. He'd immediately began thinking of excuses and I had burst out laughing before telling him he didn't have to go; it was going to be a woman outing. Wendy wasn't that interested in it either, actually, preferring to spend the evening in with the kids. It was her turn, anyway. Skye had tried to bow out and stay in with Wendy, but I wouldn't allow it. I wanted a night with some of the most important women in my life, and she and Brie were at the top of the list.

It was a phone that woke me, and I reached out and grabbed the vibrating phone on the nightstand. Mine and Juan's had been sitting next to each other and because we had the same password (our wedding anniversary) I didn't realize it was his until I saw the wallpaper, which was a picture of me, flash on the screen. I yawned as I dismissed the notification for the texts he'd gotten, which had been what had woken me up. It was some promo thing from our phone company, so it was nothing to wake him for. I focused on the screen again, realizing that it wasn't the picture I had sent to him a while ago for him to use as his background. I had been very careful in selecting, because I'd wanted it to be a picture I felt good about, and I hated nearly every picture ever taken of me.

Curiosity had me opening his gallery, to see just how many other pictures he'd taken that I didn't know about. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, knowing I snapped pictures of him every chance I got, doing things from eating, to working on cars, to sleeping to nearly everything in between, often when he wasn't aware, and I knew he snapped pictures of me too on occasion, but I tried to make sure I was aware when he took a picture, so I could try to give him a picture I wouldn't hate. I was still surprised by the amount of photos he'd taken of me though. I was pictured doing any and everything, reading a book, lounging on our bed on my stomach, my laptop in front of me and my feet in the air, lounging by the pool, sitting at the bar at the clubhouse. I had no clue he'd taken so many pictures, and in that moment I felt more loved than I'd ever imagined possible.

For a moment, I fought with the urge to delete the ones I didn't like, but then I realized that I couldn't do that. I knew he took the pictures for the same reason I did, because he loved me, loved looking at me, no matter what I was doing, or where I was. His letter had said as much, and so much more, even though he hadn't mentioned taking pictures, I knew that he thought me beautiful in each and every picture he'd captured and even though I didn't feel the same way, they were his, and his opinion was the one that mattered more than anything. I also knew if he ever deleted any of my pictures of him that were on my phone, I'd get mad, so I settled for changing the wallpaper to a picture he'd taken that I preferred, then set his phone aside, deciding to let him figure out that way that I'd seen them all.

Luckily, I didn't feel particularly sick yet this morning, and because of that, and my appreciation of the pictures, I decided to skip the smoking this morning, for now anyway, and skip right to the sex. I rolled to face him, tossing my leg over his hip, rubbing against his thigh. I lifted the sheet to get a good look up and down my husband's naked body, and that and the rubbing was more than enough to get me wet for him, especially when I started kissing him to wake him up and he expertly responded, pulling me closer and drawing me in deeper. I moaned against his throat as his hands began roaming up and down my body, settling on my breasts, tugging and rubbing my nipples, causing them to harden.

Rolling so that I was beneath him and he was settled between my legs, Juan supported himself on one forearm, using the other hand to roam down and slowly insert one finger in me, pumping it in and out a few times before inserting a second, and eventually a third. He continued to finger fuck me, getting me ready for his huge cock, and his thumb began rubbing circles on my clit. He brought me to orgasm that way, twice, before I couldn't take it anymore. I needed him inside me, and told him so. "Fuck me. Please," I only begged in bed, but I knew he found it hot. He slowly slid his fingers out of me, bringing them up to my mouth, so I could suck on them, which I did willingly, before pulling him into a kiss so he could taste me, too.

Pulling back only enough so he could reach between us once more, he guided his cock to my opening and I held my breath in anticipation as he teased me a bit with it, before he started slowly sliding into me. He had to ease the first few times in and out as I slowly stretched to accommodate his girth and I let my breath out in a sharp gasp of his name as he finally slid all the way inside me. "Fuck. Krystal," he growled huskily as my muscles tightened and contracted around him. I could feel another orgasm building already, as we found our rhythm. I had my legs wrapped around his waist, heels pushing his ass to get him as deep in me as possible every time. His hips rotated as he pulled out and thrust back in, always hitting the perfectly sweet spot that drove me closer to the edge. He sped up quickly, and a few minutes later, we were both coming together, moaning each other's names. I wasn't done with him yet, though.

Whether it was the pregnancy hormones, or the sweet, unexpected reminder of how much he loved me, I kept him in bed for the next two hours, bringing each of us to climax a handful of times. He was the only one I'd really been able to spend this much time in bed with and keep going. I had never tested the theory before, honestly, because my sex drive had never been as high as when I was with him, but no one before could turn me on so easily, and I knew no one would have this same effect on me ever again.

After I finally let him stop, because I couldn't go again if I'd tried, we smoked a bowl, and then lay back in bed, with me half draped over him, my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, my fingers lightly tracing abstract designs on his chest in complete contrast to the way my nails had been raking scratches up and down his back just minutes before. He'd even done me bent over the bed, and as I'd been resting my face near my forearms, my teeth had naturally taken hold of one as he pounded into me, to keep myself from being loud. I was probably going to be bruised, but I didn't care. "God, I don't think I'm ever going to get enough of you. We should have been doing this for the past 11 years, and even if we had, I think I'd still want you as much as I do now, as often as I do now," I pressed a few kisses to his chest before looking up at him.

One of his hands had been playing with my hair, and he took hold, angling my head so our lips could meet in a sweet kiss. "I wish we had been, honestly. But I don't think I was in near good enough shape to keep up with you back then. I was a scrawny 18 year old. Didn't really start working out and keeping in great shape until I moved here," he teased. I pretended to be offended, and opened my mouth to say something, but he placed a finger over my lips, hushing me. "You are practically insatiable, love, and I am not complaining. I am very happy to fuck you every morning and every night, and any chance we can get in between," his hand moved to caress my cheek, then slowly trail down my body to rest on my hip.

Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes and sighed. "It's only with you. I have had relationships before, as you know, but only one person, aside from you, has ever even made me want to have sex, and even considering that, the difference between my desire then and my desire for you is huge. I liked having sex with-" I cut that sentence off, deciding I didn't even want to mention his name while I was in bed with Juan. "I liked it, but sex has never really been something that I really needed. I did it for my partner, not myself. I don't want sex constantly. I want _you,_ constantly, unequivocally, irrevocably _._ Your cock inside me, only yours. Only you. Always," I declared and he reached up caressing my face, his eyes telling me he believed me.

Before his words could confirm that, I sighed and dropped my head back to his chest. I knew I had to stop putting off talking to him about things like Crystal, and other tendencies of mine that aren't the same as they used to be, but I really couldn't make myself do it right now. I trailed kisses up the column of his throat, throwing a leg over him and rolling, pushing myself up so I could straddle his waist, feeling his hard cock between the lips of my sex. I leaned down to kiss his lips, rotating my hips in a way that rubbed us against each other in all the right ways. "I want to skip our morning activities, spend the whole day in bed with you, at least until I go out with the girls later, and you go out with the guys," I paused, and I knew he was more than willing to accept this plan. "Tomorrow we're travelling, but either tomorrow night or the day after, we need to talk. I need to explain things better. You deserve a better explanation for my craziness," I confessed, meeting his gaze.

Reaching up to cup the back of my neck with his hand, he pulled me into a sweet kiss. "I've told you before, and I'll tell you again, Krystal Leann Ortiz, you give me your explanations as _you_ are ready. Take your time. I will stop pushing the issue. I'm here to listen to you, whenever you want to talk, you know that. But if you're not ready to say something, that's okay. Just know this, my beautiful, wonderful, sexy, perfect-for-me angel, there is not one single thing you could tell me that would ever change the fact that you are mine and I am yours. I know you. You're worried about your demons, and I understand that, but nothing will ever change my mind about you. Not then, definitely not now, and absolutely, positively not ever," he assured me, and then flipped us so he was on top of me and we could continue with the first part of my plan, enjoying ourselves in bed for as long as possible.

 **A/N:** _I decided to be generous. I'm already five chapters deep into part four, so I've decided to go back to updating fairly regularly as long as my muse allows me to. To the person who asked, here is your chapter filled with smutty make-up sex. I hope you enjoy. I hope everyone does. Thanks to those who read and review. It's greatly appreciated. Please continue reviewing, and reading._

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	18. Budapest

(Juan's POV)

As the train pulled to a stop, I gently nudged Krystal, who was sleeping with her head on my shoulder, her legs thrown over my lap, curled into my side. Her face was so peaceful in sleep, I really hated to wake her, but I wouldn't be able to carry her and our bags. "Angel of mine, we're here," I kissed her temple and she slowly stretched as she began to wake up, her arms tightening instinctively around my neck and burying her fact into the crook of my neck, as if she didn't want to be separated from me. She was the most affectionate when just waking up and when drunk.

Despite her wanting to go back to sleep, I kissed her temple again and began rubbing her back. "Come on, Krystal, everyone else will get off the train and leave us," I said and she nodded against my chest, yawning. I could tell she was actually going to wake up this time, so I stood, setting her back on the seat and grabbing our bags as she rubbed her eyes and opened them, looking at me sleepily. I loved watching her wake up, even though I rarely got to, since she usually woke up before me. I wanted to let her sleep some more, since on top of spending all day in bed before the opera yesterday, we stayed up most of the night fucking when she'd gotten back to the hostel.

After walking about a block in the cool evening air, she was more awake. I could tell she was lost in thoughts, though, and whatever she was planning on telling me was bothering her, but I didn't press. If she wanted to wait until tomorrow to talk, we'd do that. If she wanted to get it over with tonight, I didn't mind that. We went to settle into our room, but it wasn't long before Krystal's phone went off with a text. She answered it, and then threw herself back onto the bed, leaving her suitcase on the floor at the end of the bed. "Still tired, angel of mine?" I asked and she didn't answer for a moment.

Before she even could answer, she got a text, and she snorted a laugh, which she always complained when she did, but I loved her laugh. I loved to hear it and loved even more to be the one to make her laugh, since it was so rare to do. "Brie wanted to know if we were joining everyone for dinner. I told her we were going to stay in tonight, and she asked how I possibly had any energy left for sex after yesterday and last night," she explained, then her attention went to her phone to respond. "We're going to talk, not fuck, you perv," she said out loud as she typed, then pressed send.

As she was setting her phone aside, I walked around the bed, taking off my jacket and bending down to untie my boots before toeing them off, taking my socks off as well. I sat next to her, pulling her legs across mine so I could reach her feet, removing her boots and socks as well, tossing them onto the floor next to mine. She took her jacket off, tossing it onto her suitcase, before she sat at the head of the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, resting her chin on top of them. "I'm up for either," I joked, trying to get her to smile and loosen the tension in the room.

Turning her head to look at me, she scrunched her nose in that cute way of hers, and stuck her tongue out, amusement in her green eyes for a moment, before her thoughts returned to whatever it was she was going to say to me. "You know what happened, between Seth and I when we were kids," she said, and I nodded, though she didn't look at me for confirmation. She wasn't asking. She knew I remembered. I hated Seth, and his cousin, for the rape when she was a child. I hated anyone who hurt her, though. If I could take away pain that had ever been inflicted on her, I would.

For a moment, there was silence, and I waited for her to let me know why she brought this up. I had thought she was going to explain why she didn't want to talk to Crystal any more. "Crystal didn't believe me," she finally said, her eyes closing as she took a deep breath. I understood then why she wouldn't forgive Crystal, ever. As far as I had known, she hadn't told Crystal; hadn't told anyone at all. Before my accident I had been the only person she'd ever told. So for her to trust Crystal enough to tell her, and then for Crystal to call her a liar. It pissed me off, and I felt horrible for ever trying to convince my wife to forgive her former best friend.

Reaching out to rub her back, I waited for her to continue, putting aside my anger for the moment so I could comfort her. She allowed me to pull her into my arms as I continued rubbing her back. "I don't even know why I finally decided to tell her. It was when I first started going to therapy. My therapist was trying to convince me to come clean with some of the people closest to me. Thought it would help me heal, move on. I had told Weston, while I'd been dating him, and he still thought it was actually okay to make rape jokes around me. I told Matthew when we were together, and that wasn't as bad as I thought. So by the time I was seeing my therapist, after Matthew and I were over, I thought the next most logical person to tell was Crystal," she trailed off.

With a scoff, I felt her shake her head against my chest, laughing mirthlessly. "I was very distant from almost everyone when my depression was at it's worst. I barely spoke to her, but I'd told Brie and Skye, and at that point, I still considered her a best friend, so when she kept pushing me to add him on Facebook, which I resisted for a while before giving in, but that's not the point. Anyway, she also kept saying how close we were as kids, and how we probably would have been a couple if he hadn't moved away. Eventually I just snapped, and told her. She accused me of being an attention seeker. I never even bothered to explain all the other shit I went through. I clammed up, and I guess that's when she truly stopped being my best friend," her voice was a little shaky and she paused to compose herself.

Knowing that she needed to get the whole story out, I just kept rubbing her back, waiting for her to say anything else she needed to say. "Honestly, you know how threatened she gets when I call someone else besides her one of my best friends. We haven't even been close for years. We get together maybe once a month or every other month. Before I moved, I mean, and cut her and everyone off. The only reason I kept hanging out with her before I left is because I'd known her since we were eight. At that point it was easier for me to fake it and avoid confrontation. I tried to give her another chance for the same reason, but I don't have any more chances for her in me," she finished.

Taking her chin, I tilted her head back so I could look in her eyes. "I am so sorry I pushed it. I wish you had just told me. I can't understand how anyone could claim to know you, claim to be your best friend, and still not know you would never lie about something so awful. She obviously doesn't know you at all. I know how hard it must have been for you to tell her that, and, subsequently, how much it must have hurt you when she didn't believe you. I can block her number from your phone if you want? Tell her to stop texting you? Anything you want me to do, baby girl, just tell me and I'll do it," I told her, angry at Crystal for not believing her, and angry at myself for pushing her to forgive Crystal when she has absolutely every reason not to.

Smiling, she leaned forward and gave me a kiss. I cocked an eyebrow at her when she pulled away, never complaining, but wondering where that had come from. "I love how protective you are of me, even when I don't need it, but no. I'll handle Crystal. I've been waiting to see if she has any good explanation for telling my family, but so far nothing. When I decide to block her I can handle it. I appreciate the offer though, probably more than you even realize," she explained.

Moving her hair out of the way, I kissed her forehead. "Angel of mine, you deserve to be protected. If I could take away anyone who'd ever hurt you, you know I would do it in a heartbeat. You deserve so much better than the way you've been treated in the past. I can't promise to keep you from ever getting hurt again, but I can promise that no matter what happens, I'll be here by your side, to protect you the best I can, and our children as well," I said, reaching out to lift up her shirt so I could place a kiss on her still flat stomach. I hadn't expected her to get pregnant so quickly, but it didn't matter. It had happened, and we were going to have a baby, and then more after that, since we'd always planned on more than one, and I couldn't be happier.

Grinning, she rubbed at her exposed stomach. "I know you would, and that is far more than enough. Even if you could take away anyone in my past who had hurt me, I wouldn't let you. Things happened the way they did to make me who I am, and it's taken me time, but I'm happy with who I am," she paused, and seemed to remember something else. "There is one more topic I want to bring up though. As far as club business goes, I want to be in the know. I'm not unwilling to withhold pussy for information, if it comes to that, though I'm hoping it won't have to. We're married, so that means no secrets between us, got it?" she asked, though I knew she was only giving me one option.

This had actually been worrying me, trying to decide how much I'd tell her about club business. I didn't want to make her worry too much when things got hard, but I knew she wouldn't like me keeping secrets from her. I hated lying to her, too, and she hated being lied to even more, so I decided she was right. The only way this would work would be for us to have no secrets. I nodded in agreement. "No secrets," I confirmed, before revisiting the previous topic. "And you're right, everything you've been through has made you the strong, gorgeous, amazing, badass woman I know and love. Not many people would have been through all that you have and still manage to be as strong and badass as you are, Krystal Leann, and that makes me even more proud than ever to call you my wife. I hope you know that," I told her.

Green eyes softening, she held back tears that told me how grateful she was to hear that. I knew she doubted it sometimes, but it was the truth. "You always know just the right things to say. I am truly the luckiest woman alive to love you and be loved by you. And I'm proud of you, too, you know. You haven't had an easy past by any means, either, and you are still the most amazing man I know. Always have been. Always will be. I'm sorry about our fight the other day, and that I waited until now to finally explain things," she ducked her head down, staring at her knuckles, which had mostly healed.

Taking her hand, I kissed her knuckles gently, rubbing them lightly with my thumb once I pulled back to look at her again. "Hey, I'd rather fight with you than laugh with anyone else. You are my angel, and even our worst days are better than anything I've ever had with anyone else. I am just as lucky as you claim you are, because I get to be with you. The fight from the other day is forgotten, although I'd be up for some more make up sex if you'd like," I waggled my eyebrows at her, chasing away the last of the shadows from her eyes. She lightly whacked my chest, but that didn't stop her from taking me up on my offer.

 **A/N:** _Sorry I forgot to update yesterday, but here's a new chapter now. I hope y'all enjoy it. Next chapter is actually a flashback episode mostly. Just some fun fluff. A few different memories/scenes I thought would be fun to throw in here. Please review! Thank you to everyone who reads and reviews!_

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	19. Amsterdam

For the week after we spoke, I felt really good, glad that I'd finally come clean. Things were back to perfect again. I should have known he wouldn't doubt me the way Crystal had, but still, the possibility had scared me, so I had been reluctant to tell him. I should know better by now, but sometimes my self-defense mechanisms don't really listen to reason. I was just glad that we could finally let go of that particular disagreement, and that even when we did argue, we could get past it. I knew that before, but that had been our first real fight since we'd gotten back together, so it was nice to be past it.

We were in Amsterdam today, and after spending the day exploring with the kids, they were finally asleep, so all of the adults were going to smoke together and chill for the evening. Everyone else wanted to go out to a club or something, and tomorrow night they would, and I was planning on staying in and watching the kids. I usually did that these days when they went out, since I wasn't allowed to drink anyway. Sometimes Juan stayed with me, sometimes someone else did, but I didn't mind it, honestly. I liked babysitting, and I wanted everyone else to enjoy themselves as much as possible.

Wendy and Skye's room was right next to Jax and Tara's, so Tara had placed one of the baby monitors in their room with the kids, and taken the other part, so she could hear if one of them woke up, into Wendy and Skye's room, where we were all gathering to smoke. We only had a little more than a week left in Europe, since we were planning on leaving on February 3rd and it was already the last week in January. I couldn't believe the three months had gone by so fast. I was kind of excited to get home and start living the married life, though. It wouldn't really be all that different than the way things had been, I knew, but at the same time, it was going to be. I was married now and pregnant. Life was always moving forward.

After we smoked, we all started swapping stories. Chibs started with the first time he'd seen Juan fighting, and approached him about Prospecting. A few stories were told about Bobby, who had been killed a few years ago, due to a feud with Pope, which had also lost Tig his other daughter, Fawn. Brie and Skye, told about how the three of us all met, both on Tinychat, and in person, though they left out the part that we met in person because they both flew out to see me after I ended up OD'ing and nearly dead. "You remember the summer before my Senior year, when I brought you to meet my family?" I asked Juan, before my mind flashed back to that night.

 _After spending the whole time at the BBQ, trying to interact with my family, I went to the back to join Juan, who was playing with my cousin's kids. I leaned against the side of the house and watched with a smile on my face as he chased them around the back yard, played catch with them. It was just as well, since when he'd been inside, he had been pretty much ignored. I hated that they were doing that. No one even bothered trying to get to know him, just automatically assuming he was no good for me because he was three years older and they'd decided they knew what was best._

 _Seeing me, Juan walked over to where I stood. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and placed a kiss on my forehead. I told him I was sorry everyone was being jerks. If I had any balls at all, I would have stood up to them, but I didn't yet, so I was trying to keep the peace. "I don't care what any of them think. What I care is what I know, and I know that I love you, and you love me, and we're going to work out. Nothing's going to stop me from spending the rest of my life with you, Krystal Leann Souza," he reassured me._

Rolling his eyes, he nodded. "Your family really is a bunch of assholes," he replied, and Brie, Skye and I all nodded in agreement. "One of my favorite memories though, is of the night you first got high, when we were walking, with Julia, and whatever guy she was interested in on that night. No idea his name, but that is one of my favorite memories of you," he said with his beautiful grin, and I blushed, narrowing my eyes at him, but he told the story anyway, and I relived the night in my mind.

 _Looking up at the railroad tracks, which we would have to climb up about a ten foot incline to get to the top, I looked down at my flip-flops and skirt, then back at the rock and gravel covering the side of the incline. I wasn't at all sure this was going to go well. I was pretty clumsy on a good day, but I had just smoked weed for the first time, and it was starting to go straight to my head already. I looked at the other three, who had already started climbing, and the only thing to do was follow them up._

 _That worked for about five feet. I was about halfway up when I couldn't go any further. I was getting dizzy and starting to lose my balance, and on the rocks and dirt, in my flip-flops, my step wasn't stable or sure at all. I was wearing a pretty short skirt, but I plopped my ass down on the rocks anyway. The other three were at the top when they realized I had stopped and headed back toward me. Juan tried to help me climb, but I was stubbornly stuck, refusing to move. So they sat next to me and we smoked some more. I couldn't get down when we tried to leave either, I slid down on my ass across the gravel and dirt, scraping the backs of my thighs, and my butt cheeks through the boycut underwear I was wearing._

Throwing up a middle finger at him as he described the incident, I realized two could play that game. If he was going to tell an embarrassing story, I could as well. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. You still fell in love with me even though I was a lightweight and a klutz. He was, in fact, the first one to say it, actually. It was a few months after we met, during the summer after my freshman year. I lied and told my mom I was staying at my best friends house, but I really snuck off to the lake with this jerk," I stuck my tongue out at him, remembering as I told the story to everyone else.

 _We'd only been dating for three months, and I was only fifteen, but I was pretty sure I was in love with Juan Carlos Ortiz. I didn't make it a habit of lying to my mother, but since I started dating him I had. It was just easier, especially since my dad had shown up recently as well. We weren't getting along, so it was a lot easier to tell my mom I was going over to Julia's after a fight with my asshole of a father, than to confess where I was really going. Tonight he'd taken me out to Woodward. I loved camping. He'd built us a fire, and we'd made s'mores. We were currently sharing a chair and blanket, with me on his lap and the blanket covering us._

 _Staring at the fire, I thought of summers previous, before my Gam had died, when my family used to go camping at this very Reservoir. I couldn't believe how different things had become. I was trying to focus on that so I didn't blurt out I loved him first like a complete idiot. I mean, I was so much younger, and we weren't having sex, I kept feeling like this relationship was too good to be true, like he was going to disappear at any moment, and I didn't want to push him away by caring too much too fast. "I love you," he broke me out of my thoughts._

 _My eyes widened as I turned my head to look at him, and the first thing that popped out of my mouth was, 'Really?' He laughed. "Really, really," he confirmed, pausing to let me speak, but I was speechless as I processed so he continued speaking. "I don't know what I was expecting when I left home, and I know this isn't going to be easy, but I love you, Krystal. I found what I didn't even know I was looking for in you. I love your smile, your laugh, your eyes, your sarcasm, even how stubborn you are, because it's what makes you, you, and I am damn lucky you are you, because I wouldn't want you any other way," he told me._

 _My mouth opened again, then snapped shut. I tried once more and was finally able to speak. "I love you, too, Juan. I know I'm young, and most people don't find the person they're meant to be with when they're teenagers, but I do love you. You keep me sane when the rest of the world drives me crazy, and I don't know how I got lucky enough for you to choose me, but I'm really glad you did," he cut off my rambling by crashing my lips to his, and I lost myself in his kiss and the perfection of the moment._

This got him teased by the guys, but the rest of the women were quick to tell the stories of how their men had first said it, and/or tell other moments when their man had been romantic. I thought it was sweet to know that the big bad biker men could be sweet and romantic when they wanted to be. They may be tough, and they could definitely take care of their women, protect them from almost all dangers, but they could have a romantic side, too, and that was great. "Remember that sleepover I had and Jan accidentally flashed everyone in Mountain Mikes?" I laughed, cocking an eyebrow at my husband.

 _It was about nine thirty and Mountain Mike's closed at ten. I had about 4 or 5 friends over to stay the night, one of them being Jan, who had a crush on a guy who worked at Mountain Mike's, which is why we were headed there. I had told Juan to meet us there. We got there when almost everyone had already left. There was only one person who didn't work there, which was Juan. Jan went over to Richard, who was the guy she was interested in, but I went over to Juan, and our friends actually headed to the arcade games._

 _Sitting on the table in front of Juan, I began talking to him but noticed Jan in my peripheral vision, going around and picking things up off the floor, helping the employees clean up the place. She was wearing a knee-length skirt over leggings, but the material was flowy. It wasn't skin tight. She crouched down to pick up a few napkins, nearly lost her balance, but regained her footing before straightening, only when she'd moved her foot she'd placed it on the hem of her skirt, so it stayed down as she stood. I couldn't help but laugh as she blushed and bent down again pulling her skirt back up right._

For the rest of the night that was all we did: exchange random funny anecdotes. I told my share of stories to embarrass Juan, Brie and Skye, but they told their own share right back to embarrass me. I had to let them; turnabout was fair play. I also enjoyed talking with everyone else, too, of course. Tig mentioned the time Juan had taken one of his tranqs when Tig'd said they were vitamins. He'd passed out and fucked up, not putting the clips in the bags. They got him back by putting him in a diaper and his boots and leaving him on the sidewalk with a cardboard sign stapled to his chest that asked for someone to adopt him. He also mentioned the time he got a chunk taken out of his ass because Juan had been tasked with drugging the dog and gave it crank instead of something to knock it out.

The night was great, honestly. We all laughed with and at each other, and I was reminded again of all I'd missed out on. I was no longer the outsider watching a family tease and laugh together. I was part of the teasing and the love and laughter and I loved every minute of it. I managed to stay up until three, but at that point I had to tell Juan that if he wanted sex, he'd better take me to bed then, otherwise I'd probably end up falling asleep and he'd have to carry me back to our room. He immediately took me up on the offer, of course.

 **A/N:** _There's one more chapter left after this. I'll probably post it on Saturday and I dunno when I'll start posting part 4 yet. Probably fairly soon because I'm already writing chapter 9 for it. It's really good so far, in my humble opinion. I hope everyone else thinks so too. Please read and review! Thank you everyone who does!_

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


	20. Stockholm

We were in Stockholm a few days later. The plan was to spend the day exploring Gamla Stan, also known as Old Town. There were plenty of things to see, we'd heard. Some parts had even been around since the 1200's, so it would be cool to explore an area that had seen so many years. I was interested in seeing some of the older buildings and how they were structured. It had some good restaurants, too, apparently, so we'd be eating somewhere there today.

Stretching as I woke up, I grabbed the pipe, taking a hit before nudging my husband and passing it over to him. We still had some weed from Amsterdam, which was, admittedly, as good as we'd all expected it to be. I enjoyed my morning routine with Juan, trying to wrap my head around the fact that in five days, we'd be home. I knew that essentially, nothing had changed except my last name, but at the same time, it had. I had changed. I was a wife, and going to be a mother soon. We'd have to start preparing our home for the baby, and start getting ready for that. It was scary and exciting all at once.

When we'd finished smoking, he rolled on top of me, supporting his weight with his forearms, I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. Our morning sex was rough and hot this morning, and we shared a shower, and another round of sex before we got ready. I was wearing a bra and panties, standing in front of my suitcase, and I caught sight of myself in the mirror in my peripheral vision. I turned my head and looked over, then looked down at my stomach as I stepped closer to the mirror. I could not believe it.

My jaw dropped open and I dropped my hands to my stomach. There was only a slight bulge. No one else would notice it but me, or possibly someone who knew my body as well as Juan did, but I knew Juan wouldn't notice anything like that, much less say it. He asked what was wrong when he noticed me gaping at my reflection. I glanced over my shoulder as he approached my back, but then turned so the mirror caught my side view, looking at how slightly it stuck out. "This is real. I'm starting to get a bump. Jesus fuck," I murmured, rubbing it lightly before turning my gaze on my husband.

With a cocked eyebrow he examined my stomach, stepping closer. "I don't see it, but that will be my answer from now on regardless," he told me, and I laughed, stretching onto my tiptoes and wrapping my arms around his neck to pull him into a quick kiss. I told him that was a good answer before I returned to my suitcase. I grabbed a pair of lime green skinny jeans and a black wife-beater. I got dressed and put on my socks, shoes and jacket before we went to meet everyone else for breakfast.

A few hours later, we were just walking around the neighborhood. It had been a few hours since breakfast, so I was on the lookout for a place that looked good for lunch, as were the others, since I wasn't the only one ready to eat. I had just been the first to say something. Tara, Jax and the kids were at the front of the group, with Tara wearing Kallie, and Abel and Thomas walking between them. Wendy and Skye were behind them, and then Tig and Venus. Kerrianne, Chibs and Brie were in front of Juan and I, who were at the very back. I pointed out a porcelain doll I saw in a window of a shop across the street. "You know, maybe the baby would like that, what do you think, Tigger?" I teased.

Instead of replying, Tig just ignored my comment as everyone else started laughing. Venus, to her credit, kept a straight fact, patting her man on the arm and placing a kiss on his cheek, but she looked over her shoulder and met my gaze and I could see the amusement in her eyes, even as she refrained from laughing. She pointed out a nice little restaurant for us all to eat at. We had barely ordered when Jax got a call, and the guys all went outside to talk club business and have cigarettes. I was curious, but when the guys came back, they didn't seem particularly concerned, so the conversation just moved on to other things.

Once we'd eaten and sat for a bit, we went back to wandering and sightseeing. The guys fell behind, still seemingly talking over club stuff, and the women led our group, with Tara, Wendy and Skye at the front with the kids. I was tempted to hang further back and eavesdrop, but I trusted Juan to tell me if something important happened. I decided to talk to Kerrianne for a bit instead, looping my arm through hers as she lagged behind Brie and Venus, who were in a conversation about relationships. "I'm sure you don't want to listen to Brie talk about her sex life with your dad," I joked.

Making a face, she had to agree with me, but then she asked why I sought her out. She was right to be curious, I realized. I hadn't made much of an effort to get close, but she did seem like someone I could get along with. "I dunno. I just thought it'd be fun to talk. I know your life is in Belfast, but have you ever thought about visiting Chibs out in Charming? You obviously like to travel, and California is a nice place to visit, I must admit," I was curious, because I could tell that Chibs wanted to be closer to his daughter, but realistically, they'd be able to see each other more if she came to visit instead of just waiting for him to come to her.

For a moment she didn't respond, then she just shrugged. "I guess it's not completely out of the question anymore. For so many years, I wasn't able to leave Belfast because Jimmy wouldn't let me. Since he's been dead, I've been able to branch out and travel around Europe, but I haven't brought up leaving Europe to visit the states to my mum yet. I'm sure you're much more interested in my take on Brie's relationship with my Da, though," she added casually, cutting right through any other small talk.

Sheepishly, I nodded. I really did like her. I thought we could get along, maybe even be good friends if we got to know each other. She smiled, glancing over her shoulder at Chibs, and then looking forward again, her gaze lingering on Brie for a minute as she considered what to say. "I think she's good for him. I know how much he loved my mum, and how many years he was in love with her. He hurt for a lot of years because my mum being with Jimmy. I think it's great that he's managed to fall in love again. He deserves it, and from what I can tell, Brie is great, and she deserves to be happy and in love, too," she finally said.

Nodding, I had to agree. I was glad she felt the same way, though. She regarded me a minute, and I could tell she had something else to say, so I didn't say anything. "I remember what Juice was like a few years ago. He was," she paused, searching for a right word, "content, with his life. It's so easy to tell how in love with you he is, and how happy he is now. I'm glad you two found each other. I'm totally jealous. Every time I think I might have found the one, life or the guy in question seems to find a way to mess it up. I hope I can find someone who loves me as much as Juice loves you," she said.

Looking over my shoulder at the man in question, I smiled at my husband when he met my gaze, and then mouthed, 'I love you,' waiting for him to mouth it back before I looked forward again. "I'm lucky, luckier than I ever thought I could be. You'll find the right man. Don't rush it. It's not easy, but when it happens, you'll know it, and you'll do anything to keep it. Wait for that, because it's worth it," I told her. "Honestly, I know you've probably heard this before, but it comes to find you when you least expect it. And I am a firm believer that if something is meant to be, it will be," I added.

With a shrug, she nodded, although she didn't look completely convinced. I knew all too well how that was. I hadn't believed it was possible until I had fallen in love with Juan again. I knew that when the right guy for her came around she would become a believer just as I had. Brie and Skye had both gone through the same disbelief as I had, and I was very proud of the places they were in now, as well. Skye was happy and committed to her fiancée, and Brie was also in love. I wasn't sure if marriage was in store for them, but I did believe they would be together for a long time.

Just then, Juan came up beside me, slipping an arm around my waist as he fell into step with me, placing a kiss on my temple. The rest of the guys surged past us, each of them headed for their women. He asked what we were talking about, and I shared a look with Kerrianne, and then shrugged. "Wouldn't you like to know?" I teased, stretching up to place a responding kiss on his cheek, snaking my arm around his waist, so I had one wrapped around my husband and the other linked through Kerrianne's. "Just girl stuff," I added when he was still curious, then I changed the subject so the three of us could talk together as we all kept walking.

After a long day of exploring and sightseeing, we were all back at the hostel, hanging out as we usually did before we went to bed. The kids were already asleep, worn out by the day, when Jax's phone rang. He told Tara it was his mom and flipped the phone open. His face got serious and he stood and stepped away, lowering his voice. Tara watched worriedly, and I shot her a look, but she just shrugged. He fell to his knees a few moments later, dropping his phone, and Tara immediately went to his side. The phone lay on the ground and I could still hear Gemma's voice speaking, though I couldn't make out the words.

Since Tara was preoccupied with Jax, who was unresponsive, and I was the closest besides her, I went to the phone as she knelt by his side, trying to figure out what Gemma had said. "Hey, Gem, what happened?" I asked, and then her words hit me like a punch in the stomach. "Okay. Okay. We'll be on our way. See you as soon as we get there," my voice was barely a whisper, but I could see that Juan was eying me, worried, and Tara had turned her attention to me, since Jax didn't seem able to say anything. "Opie's dead," I told everyone else, hardly able to believe the words, as I sank back onto the chair I'd been sitting in, a wave of nausea hitting me hard.

 **A/N:** _Don't hate me! Please! I really never plan on killing people. I try to go where the story/characters take me, and with what I have in mind, this needed to happen. Part 4 will be filled with a lot more drama. Possibly some more deaths, but I don't think there will be any more major characters deaths. I'm not making promises though. Y'all will just have to keep reading and bear with me to see what happens. I'll probably post chapter 1 of part 4 Tuesday or Wednesday. It'll be called Living the Life, so look out for that. Thank you to everyone who reads and reviews! I appreciate you all!_

 **Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything._


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